cruiseandstay

On Board

2010-04-23T05:28:00.000-07:00

With the ship docked at Lisbon we decided to enjoy some of the ships facilities. This time it was a draw at mini golf, with Pauline having to pull off an unbelievably amazing long putt on the last hole. It must have been the threat of the loser having to try their luck on the "flow rider" that spurred her on. So with the score even, we decided to move on to a past-time we have both become proficient at, the buffet!

Sunny Madeira

2010-04-23T05:22:00.000-07:00

After a wet and windy stop at the Azores, it was a welcome sight to see the sunshine in Funchal. We strolled the streets for a couple of hours looking for an internet cafe, and found one right back where we started near to the ship, still it gave us a chance to have a good look around the town. After all this walking, refreshment was needed as you can see.

Independence of the Seas

2010-04-18T04:47:00.001-07:00

After a good journey to Fort Lauderdale, we dropped off the car and boarded the "Independence of the Seas". This is a huge ship and even has a promenade style street down the middle, complete with cafe's, shops, bars and even a barbers shop, but at $45 a shave I decided DIY was the best option, (and so did Tom! haha). The lighting level changes throughout the day and is dimmed in the evenings. One night we watched the "Mad Hatters" parade. The Ice skating show was superb, but unfortunately no flash photo's were allowed. This is our 6th day at sea and we are looking forward to a day ashore in the Azores.

Bye Bye Florida

2010-04-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well its time to leave the sunshine and head home. To make sure that the transition from junk food to good old British fare isn't too much of a shock, Pauline has cooked up a roast beef and Yorkshire pud dinner followed by a fruit cake (lovely jubbly).
In order to walk off some of this grub, we decided to have one last game of mini golf at "Congo River" where Pauline won by two shots, (well I need to make sure I get more roast beef dinners when we get home).

Wekiwa revisited

2010-04-05T08:45:00.001-07:00

We liked Wekiwa park so much that we felt we had to make another trip there.
This time we did a 4 mile trek around the woods, which seemed longer in the heat of the afternoon. Thought there may be some unusual wildlife as there were warnings of black bears,
but all we managed to see were some squirrels. One chap tried tempting them to take some food from his hand, but changed his mind after the squirrel bit his finger!

Downtown Disney

2010-03-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, these dogs are made from LEGO bricks. They make the ideal pets, as they are house trained, don't need exercising and when you get fed up with them they can be made into something else!

Downtown is really a big shopping centre for Disney, but its nice to walk around and has some whacky restaurants like the T-Rex one above. Its good to view, but as for eating there, you may need to use ear plugs!

Old Town

2010-03-21T07:54:00.001-07:00

A warm Saturday evening saw us strolling around 'Old Town' to take a look at the classic cars that were on show. There are all types here, from concourse restorations to outrageous custom styles, even a copy of the police car from the 'Blues Brothers' film.

All good things come to an end, and on Monday afternoon we waved goodbye to Mark and Helen as they flew back home.

Theme parks and crazy golfers

2010-03-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

Now that the weather has warmed up, a trip to Universal Studios and Disney's Epcot theme parks was enjoyed by all. Birthday boy Mark chose 'Hawaiian Rumble Golf' as his birthday treat.

Mark reaches 30

2010-03-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

Mark reached 30 on the 6th of March, and we all helped him to celebrate with a surprise trip to 'Capones' dinner show. As you can see from above, it was a quiet affair where we tried to keep his birthday a secret, haha!

Islands of Adventure

2010-03-02T07:01:00.001-08:00

Just like in the 'Hulk' movie, when he say's... 'you won't like me when I'm angry'!
Didn't seem to worry Steven much, as for the other two, the picture says it all.

The knitted character makes an appearance here, can you spot it?

Steven, Helen and Mark splashdown at Ripsaw Falls, obviously we would have joined them, but one of us had to take the photo while the other held all the bags! (thats our excuse anyway)

Mark & Helen can see that Steven is in for a soaking, but at the moment Steven is full of ignorant bliss!

Messin' about on the river

2010-02-28T17:52:00.000-08:00

A great time was had by all at Wekiwa Springs national park, about 30 mins north of where we are staying.

The peace is over

2010-02-28T05:32:00.000-08:00

The kids arrive and immediately get into the holiday groove!

Steven tries his hand at training the wildlife, before sending an application for a job at Sea World!

Sunny Delight

2010-02-21T13:58:00.001-08:00

The pictures above are of the clubhouse and lake within the 'Terra Verde' complex, where we are staying for the next eight weeks. After taking two weeks and driving approx 3500 miles, its nice to be able to settle in one place and relax.

When we planned our trip last year, we envisaged a sea front hotel and lots of walks along the beach. Well we got half of it right but arrived to severe weather warnings, so after only one night we hot footed it out of Galveston and made our way through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to reach Florida three days later. Luckily for us, the weather changed and so did Tom into his shorts.

Yee Haa

2010-02-11T18:55:00.001-08:00

San Antonio (Texas) was a chilly but beautiful city. We spent the morning strolling along the famous River Walk until we reached the Alamo. Inside a guide gave a short history of the garrison and battle where Davy Crockett was killed in 1836. His remains are interred in San Fernando Cathedral pictured above.

A meal at the 'Mi Tierra' family owned Mexican restaurant, complete with wacky decor, was the next port of call before returning to the hotel to get ready for our evening visit to the rodeo.

The arena was huge, our seats were so high up we thought we would have nose bleeds! The show was great, everyone was cheering on their favourite cowboy, and we even managed a few 'yee haa's' ourselves.

ET phone home

2010-02-10T14:32:00.000-08:00

We couldn't pass through Roswell (New Mexico) without a visit to the UFO museum. This is a reproduction of the alien autopsy scene from the film 'Roswell'. Looking at the state of the room I bet he wishes he had gone private!
Leaving the museum through the usual 'gift shop' exit, we made our way to Carlsbad Caverns about 70 miles away.

Carlsbad Caverns were fantastic, the photo's just can't do them justice, the size of the main cavern was immense. We walked for an hour and a half, 750ft below ground (by elevator, after all, we are in America) and were amazed at everything we saw. Would definitely recommend a visit.

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Cowboys and Indians

2010-02-07T10:06:00.000-08:00

Our journey was broken by an overnight stay at Gallup (Arizona), this is high up in the desert and therefore cold (-1degC). As you can see by the pool picture, this holiday is not all sunshine and sex, sometimes there's no sunshine. OUCH! after that dig in the ribs from Pauline, looks like there won't be any sex either!

As we entered New Mexico we travelled through Apache and Navajo territories and the scenery was like moving through a spaghetti western. It was easy to imagine a line of Red Indians looking down on us as we drove our wagon south (aka, Ford Focus).

Get your kicks on Route 66

2010-02-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

We left Las Vegas just before the crowds were arriving to watch the superbowl, and set off east across the Hoover Dam (see pic of inlet towers). The water level is at an all time low and will possibly be dry in another ten years time if residents continue to use water at the same rate.

Travelling along route 66 we stopped off for a Coffee and a slice of old fashioned apple pie, unfortunately it wasn't old fashioned prices!

The further east we went the elevation rose to 6000ft where snow lay all around, closing the Grand Canyon for winter.

At Winslow we visted the site where a meteor fell causing a crater approx three quarters of a mile across (rim to rim), too big to get it all in the photo. NASA used to train their astronauts here.

Viva Las Vegas

2010-02-04T11:09:00.001-08:00

Vegas seems louder and brighter than ever (we must be getting old). We checked in at "Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon" as recommended by Mark (good choice), nice central location. Yesterday we toured several hotels and last night went to the Venetian theatre to watch "Phantom of the Opera", a superb show equally on par with anything at the West End. Today we are off to the classic car museum then down to Fremont Street tonight to see the overhead light & sound show tribute to Queen, (Freddie, not Elizabeth).

Ghost Town

2010-02-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

Next day we visited Calico, an old silver mine ghost town. There were only a few people there and we had a great time exploring. After a ride on the train and a walk through the mine, we got back on the road and headed for Las Vegas.

San Francisco

2010-02-04T11:01:00.000-08:00

Sailed under the Golden Gate bridge and passed Alcatraz at about 05:30 then docked around 08:00. By the time we had cleared customs, caught a taxi and picked up the hire car it was 12:30 followed by a 429 mile trip to Barstow.

Going Loco Down in Acapulco

2010-01-29T08:46:00.000-08:00

Next stop after Panama Canal was Acapulco. Very hot here and lots of persistant Mexican sellers, a bit like being pestered in Egypt. We walked around a star shaped fort for a while, until the sun got the better of us and we headed back to the ship and air conditioning. Whilst getting a cold drink from the bar, noticed that the football was on, so Tom spent the rest of the afternoon watching footie while Pauline read a book.
The following day we anchored off Zihuatanejo (pronounced - Zee-what-a-nay-ho) and were tendered in to an unspoilt town with lots of character. Although it was only a small place, we enjoyed it far more than Acapulco. The people were very friendly and understood 'No Thanks'!
We are now at sea for three days, before arriving at San Francisco where we disembark.

Panama Canal

2010-01-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

After leaving the pretty port of Oranjestad in Aruba we set sail for the Panama Canal.
We woke early, as we entered the first locks at around 7:00am, and we didn't want to miss anything.
Also scheduled for that time was P&O's Oriana, so Arcadia (our ship) and the Oriana did the first set of locks side by side. It took about 8 hours to reach the Pacific Ocean. A fascinating day, and one we will always remember.

Steel Drums & Dreadlocks

2010-01-21T13:09:00.001-08:00

Arcadia berthed beside a posh boat which we have seen before in Bergen last year, it's owned by a russian fertilizer firm (so we've been informed, but it could be a load of crap!). Barbados is a green and sunny isle, with lovely coastlines. We took a tour of the island by minibus and Noel, our friendly driver, showed us Sandy Lanes golf course where $300 will get you 18 holes.

Atlantic Crossing 19-1-10

2010-01-19T07:31:00.000-08:00

We are now nearing Barbados and the sea has calmed down and the weather has warmed to a pleasant 27degC in the shade. The balcony is great, from there we have been watching flying fish as they escape the wash of the ship. The Arcadia is lovely, managed to watch a few films in the cinema and have been to some shows in the theatre. Today we are going to see Murray Walker on the second of his three talks about his life as a motor racing commentator. Last night we went to a Chinese buffet, it was like being at home in the 'Wing Wah' (only no snow!).

No Fun in Funchal

2010-01-14T07:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks to our super chauffeur and his wife (John & Jackie) we arrived safely in a freezing cold Southampton, with plenty of time to catch the ship.
Imagine our delight when we discovered, upon check-in, that we were upgraded to a balcony room. Everything was sailing along swimmingly until we hit the Bay of Biscay when we would have had a smoother ride on 'splash mountain'. Pauline spent the next 36 hours flat on her back, and it was nothing to do with me!
Today (Thur) is our first stop in Madiera where although it's warm, it's also wet. It looks a beautiful place and one that we would like to visit again when it's sunny.
Next stop Barbados, but first another 5 days at sea. Fingers crossed that it will be a bit calmer.

Pre Cruise

2010-01-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

P&O Arcadia sets sail on Sunday 10th Jan 2010 at 6pm, from Southampton.
Hopefully the snow won't stop us from travelling and we will be there in time for the Lifeboat drill, err... we mean buffet.