Hope you had a good time and we look forward to reading your trip report.

Welcome back from me, too.

I know what you're thinking. A thread started just to welcome you back and so far the only posters on it are the guys!

Anyhoo, tell us all about the cruise.

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Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Helloooooooooooooooooo.... is my yin here??? Only you two would be talking to yourselves!! lol

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Where's Kevin.....I don't see him anywhere.....I looked in the bass boat....he's not their......I called the only number I have for him( 1-800-Gone Fish'n )...No answer.

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I lead with my Heart and my Body follows

Dan & Sweet Georgene

Is Kev back? Does anyone know?

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i have to assume he will be in late this evening. either way, he will be surprised to see that people welcomed him home before he got here, lol.

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help us help aruba's kittens and cats

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vote now!!!!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/N...uba/index.html

Nobody ever said we were punctual. Better 24 hours early than 24 minutes late (or something like that).

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Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Welcome back from me too Kevin! No matter if you're here or not, I guess you'll be here eventually. I'm usually late, so maybe I'm early this time. Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

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Kev is coming back today - the 2nd. We should be hearing from him soon.

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Dec. 30, 2010 'till ?

And here I am - thanks to all my pals for the Welcome Home! The trip was great (as expected), but I can't do my report for you yet...I promise I will asap, but I gotta go shopping with Loren to get some stuff for her company Xmas party, which is tonight. Geez, just got back and already rushing and putting on a suit!

Happy to be home, believe it or not! I'll tell y'all about the trip later this wknd or by Monday latest...

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Welcome home.....can't wait to hear about your trip!!!

I'm looking forward to it because I've been wondering about your itinerary for a while. Did you go through the Panama Canal twice?

Anyway, welcome home, glad you're back! Talk to you after Loren's party!

(Say "hey" to Loren for me, please.)

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Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Hey, hey, hey yinnie - welcome back!! Can't wait to hear the details, and especially if anything was said when you docked in our special place! Love to Loren!

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Welcome back, bro! I hope you had a great time. I'm looking forward to your report.

Happy Christmas party tonite! (ps - I'm sure you'll look quite suave in that suit!

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Welcome Back Kevin! Can't wait for your report!

Hope you and Loren have a great time at the Christmas party tonight!

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Hey kev..hope you had a great vacation. Now back to reality. Anxious to hear all about it.
ruba

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Only happy people allowed!

Thanks again for all the warm welcome back's! Unfortunately that's all that's warm, since it's gonna be snowy and 30 degrees all day today.

This was Loren's parent's first cruise. We had wanted to take them to Aruba with us for a long vacation, but they were very concerned about the amount of sun they would be dealing with, so we settled on a cruise vaca instead. They had a great time, despite the fact that it was sunny every day - on the ship there's always shade somewhere. Here's a not-so-brief summary:

The ship: Royal Caribbean really has a good thing going. We were on the Brilliance of the Seas, a giant floating city and playground. We've been on that ship twice now (both 10-nighters), and still haven't seen the whole thing. The cabin was the standard walk-in closet, but the balcony over the sea made up for it. We got to see dolphins swimming alongside of us, and about a bazillion flying fish - some that flew for 30+ seconds! Did very little gambling, lost at blackjack and won at roulette - go figure!

The spa: For the first time ever, I got a massage - and not just one, but three! Our first three days at sea: first a 'seaweed wrap detox' massage, the next day a deep tissue massage, then the next day at sea was a volcanic hot stone massage. All amazing, and addicting - I might just be hooked! Thank goodness Loren's Pop was generous enough to suggest them (and to pay for them $$$$$)!

The food: Delicious, and non-stop. We never made it to the main (formal) dining room, because we instead choose the non-structured and casual alternative of the buffet. Excellent variety, and very good quality of food - always fresh, and something new each night. And breakfast? Oh man, if you could line up all the bacon I ate end to end, it would be longer than the ship! I'll be lucky if I only gained 10 pounds on this trip (I'll get on the scale today at work) It was no picnic squezzing into my suit Sat nite, but I did it...

Reading material: For me, it was 'Choke' (by the guy who wrote 'Fight Club'), 'Siddhartha' (Hesse), and 'The Return of the Godfather' (not Puzo, but still fantastic). Loren read Choke and Siddhartha when I was done, also random magazines...

The weather: Pretty much perfect - the only time it rained was at night. That includes two sunny days in the rain forest, a bonus! It was the first cruise for Loren's parents, who wanted very little to do with the sun, so they were challenged but succeeded. Here are some highlights:

Aruba: What can I say, we only had one day to enjoy our favorite place in the world. After a beautiful sunrise over Hooiberg, we were off the ship by 7 AM. We walked to Villa Germania, and loaded up on tater pancakes and their delicious bread. We walked around the marina to show her parents the iguanas, then walked across the street to the mall. (By the way, we were all sweating by this point - the breeze was almost non-existent). I went to the Ren counter, and got us all passes to Ren island for the day. They cost $50 pp, and include a drink, lunch, and use of floats and towels etc. (and hammocks/chairs of course). Fair enough, and since we wanted no food they gave us a second drink. Since her parents weren't eating or drinking we got 2 more drinks each, so I was far from complaining!

While Dad and I were on the beach, Loren and Ma went shopping in O-stad. A few hours and a few hundred dollars later (thank you Corrine), the ladies joined us on the beach. While Ma and Pa stayed in the shade, Loren and I enjoyed the float and wallowed in the water for hours. After one day, I looked like I had been there for a week, and I must admit I felt like it too!

We went to Iguana Joes for dinner and (several) drinks, then walked the streets of downtown and enjoyed the lights and people. It felt so strange, knowing we had to leave already. Thankfully the ship didn't leave until 1 or 2 AM, so at least we didn't have to hurry. One thing that surprised me - I never realized how hopping the night scene was until that night. As the ship left, it still sounded like Mardi Gras. I never noticed that, even when we stayed at the Ren. Aruba put on a good show!

Panama Canal: Amazing to see. There were a lot of ships passing thru the locks while we were there, we were just one. Our ship was 1000' feet long, however many thousands of tons, and the system had no problems getting us thru. We didn't go all the way to the Pacific, just up into the main lake (Gatun). It anchored in the lake for a few hours, then passed back thru the locks again in the afternoon. I was supposed to have a fishing excursion for some Peacock Bass, but it was canceled due to lack of participation (me only). The good thing was that it allowed me to join the rest of our group on a walking tour of a rain forest.

Despite the warnings of rain, bugs, and humidity, it was mostly sunny, cool, and bug-free. We got to see howler monkeys (ever hear one howl? Yikes!!), toucans, parrots, and sloths. It was only a 45 minute walk (hour drive each way), but enough to make me wish we had a full day to enjoy it. On the drive back to the pier we saw generally poor living conditions. There were lots of topless indigenous Indians greeting the ship, which arrived about 30 minutes after we did.

Costa Rica: Our favorite stop on the trip (yes, Aruba). Our chosen tour was called 'Rain Forest Aerial Tram' - if anyone ever goes to CR, TAKE THIS TOUR. Amazing. It begins with a 2 hour drive thru the country (on a spanking-new Mercedes bus), with an informative tour guide telling you what you're seeing. Lots of banana and pineapple groves, green everywhere. When we got to the rainforest, we were in awe.

We were loaded into a 6-person tram, an open-air car that rides a cable. It goes from ground level to appx 130 feet up, so you get to see the forest from both sides of the canopy. Unbelievable - when Loren gets our pictures ready I'll post a way to view them. This was simply unforgettable.

Grand Cayman: First, the bad - due to problems in Cozumel (among other ports), we were one of 7 (seven) cruise ships in port, 2000+ people per ship. Actually, there is no port for docking, we all just anchored nearby and tendered in visitors all day. Our ship was the second one in, and our tour left early, so we had the best possible scenario we could have in the face of all these ships.

Our tour went to a reef first, and we snorkeled for about 45 minutes. We saw a huge moray eel, 2 nurse sharks, rays, and plenty of fish. We were just inside the 'Cayman Wall', outside of which the depth quickly plunges to 6000 feet. Yes, six thousand. The result is lots of fish on the reef, clinging to the last piece of structure near the surface before the drop. After that, we boated a short distance to a sandbar, appropriately dubbed 'Stingray City'. Here there are hundreds of stingrays, and you can swim among them safely - they are very friendly, due to having been fed here for years. Loren was afraid to leave the boat at first, but after seeing me holding one of them w/o fear or incident, she finally joined us. She still was too afraid to touch or handle any of them, but she enjoyed the moment - until one swam too close for her comfort (they actually rub against you), and back to the boat she went. It quickly became Cruise Ship Passenger City, so we thankfully left for part three of our tour - a few hours in the sand at the famous Seven Mile Beach. Nice enough, but nothing we haven't seen elsewhere in the Carib. We soaked up some sun, had a few drinks, swam a bit (cooler water than Aruba), then left there just as it too swelled with ship passengers. So glad we managed to stay just ahead of the masses, we went back to the ship.

So now we're back home, shivering and suffering. This weekend I wore long pants for the first time since March, and today I return to work to be reminded of how much I'm not liking it there these days. Ah, reality.

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The cruise sounds wonderful. Glad Ma and Pa enjoyed themselves in Aruba as well as the other port of calls. Someday we'd like to go on a cruise

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It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere

Very interesting trip, kevin. It sounds like you did a bit of everything and saw some different sights. Costa Rica sounds really interesting. Sorry you are back to reality. I hope the job situation gets better over time.

ps - glad I could help!

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That sounds like a realy cool trip, Kevin. I went to Costa Rica once when I was a kid and LOVED it. We stayed in San Jose. The highlight was a trip to the top of Irazu volcano. On the same trip, we went to the Panama Canal which was impressive. We took a train the entire length of the canal. I had almost forgotten about that trip.

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Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Kevin - did you notice people not getting off the ship in Aruba and/or were passengers given any advice or warning?

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I was wondering what you meant when you asked if anyone said anything...no, I didn't notice anyone staying on the ship (although some did at every port), and no one spoke of (or were given) any warnings or anything. The gals that worked at the spa on the ship were all excitedly yakking about going to C&C's that nite...

The only thing that felt any different than usual was that the breeze was missing, which made it extremely hot. Other than that, business (paradise) as usual.

Corrine, thankfully Loren's Mother made the big contribution to Aruba's economy, so you didn't hurt my bank acct to severely. She got Loren a very nice ring (not sure what the stone is) and one for herself as well, also some bracelets etc...

I wore my visitaruba BB shirt all day (except when I was swimming and wallowing on the beach) but got no notice from fellow members

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Loren's parents sound like very generous people! Lucky you two! I'm glad they all had a nice time.

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Kevin - I skirted around the issue a little for the sake of not causing any conflict with my post, but you answered my question, and I was glad to hear what you said. Thanks!

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kevin, was having a balcony an important issue for you. Did it make a difference in your enjoyment of the cruise? We're looking into a 14 day cruise in 07, and trying to get as much info and input as possible from people who have experienced cruises.

Thanks.

Just to put my 2 cts in we have been on 5 or 6 cruises and the last 3 we had a balcony. It is really nice to have. Just sitting out there and having a drink is very very relaxing.

Kevin glad you had a good time. Royal Caribbean is our favorite also.


Nat

Kevin, sounds like a wonderful trip. I'm a regular at Aruba and timeshare owner at Paradise Beach and sometimes exchange for other places (but miss Aruba when I do that), and I've always had a desire for Costa Rica. Your description of the nature there sounded incredible and worth the trip. Is is pretty safe there in Central America? We've made exchanges in places we know and recently came back from Maui last month. Incredible, and worth the long trip. Sure wish it was closer. Talk about nature, and flowers, rainbows and mountains, no humidity and incredible waves.

Glad you guys had a wonderful time.

Marie

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A piece of Heaven on Earth.
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My first cruise was on Carnival, where a friend was getting married. I did it on the cheap, which meant an inside cabin: interior, no balcony or window. You would think it wouldn't matter, that there's so much to do on the ship that you only need the room to sleep, etc etc, BUT...w/o at least a window, it becomes EXTREMELY claustrophic. Yes it's much cheaper, but after that trip I vowed to have a balcony the next time.

Two cruises with a balcony later, and there's no going back. As Nat said, the luxury of your own private space over the water is priceless. Loren likes to sleep in, and I don't, so there were a couple hours every morning that was just me and the flying fish. Without a doubt, worth every extra penny.

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We are hooked, and are already planning a trip to Costa Rica. I can't really comment on the safety, because we were only there for a day (another on Panama) and were fairly sequestered on our bus and tour. The nature - phenomenal!

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Thanks for the info and the incentive. We both love nature type vacations and Costa Rica really is up there on the list. I think a tour would be best especially in uncharted territory. If you ever go to Maui, take the road to Hana tour which is an all-day (12 hour) excursion on the east side of Maui, through a rain forest and on top of hugh cliffs, black sand volcanic beaches and beautiful solitary back country. They even have their own winery there.

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A piece of Heaven on Earth.
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If interested, here is a link for a resort in Costa Rica that a friend gave me. She said her family spent a week there and loved it - I can see why!
http://www.tabacon.com/

I've heard of the road to Hana before, and we'll definitely be on it if/when we ever get to Hawaii.

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Thanks so much for the link. It's looks beautiful. Much appreciated. If you need any info on Maui, just ask. Thanks

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A piece of Heaven on Earth.
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Will do, Marie - thanks to you too!

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Costa Rica is beautiful its worth visiting that place.By the way I have a Costarican sister in law.

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Money isn't everything but it sure keeps you in touch with the kids.

Good to hear that Kevin. Will tell my brothers.

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Money isn't everything but it sure keeps you in touch with the kids.

Welcome back Kevin & happy belated 2nd anniversary!!

Thanks Jewell!

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