Sailing toward Aruba

We're on the ship and I LOVE IT!!! Our room is lovely, and a little bigger than I was expecting so I am well pleased. Our private balcony is wonderful, and we've already spent quite a bit of time out there. We actually watched over the side of the balcony yesterday to make sure our luggage was all loaded on (it was) and it is very nice for tanning and enjoying the breezes night or day. Mum actually spent a little too much time out there today before we found the sunscreen I had packed, and as a result she's sporting a nice burn! We attended the “Welcome Onboard” show last night and it was cheesy good fun – found out there are 100 other Canadians on board, although we have yet to meet any of them. We met our dinner companions last night, and I am pleased to say that they are a congenial group – VERY lucky for us because all 8 of us are going to be doing the entire 107 days to Rome. We're sitting with three couples; one from Georgia, one from Florida and one from Las Vegas. I feel very young – so far I have only spotted maybe 5 other passengers under the age of 60! That's okay though, it's nice to feel young again! We spent today at sea and sailed past Cuba. The weather has been very fine and its been pretty smooth sailing. Unfortunately mum is feeling a little under the weather – she's a tad seasick, so we're hoping that passes soon. She spent much of the afternoon in the library reading while I attended a lecture on Aruba and then booked our shore excursion for that port. Somebody told me today that we're going to be changing time zones 24 times on this cruise, and our first change comes tonight. Tomorrow is another day at sea, and I haven't received the listing of activities for tomorrow yet, so I'm not sure what we'll be up to.....but we'll be in Aruba on Saturday, so keep your eyes peeled Saturday night or Sunday morning for an update! TTFN!

Florida The Fabulous!

We finally made it to Fort Lauderdale yesterday - the flight had to circle for about an hour due to strong winds and a rainstorm in Fort Lauderdale, but we eventually made it unscathed, and more surprisingly, all of our luggage made it too! By the time we hit the ground the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out. We were treated to cool breezes and a lovely 22 degrees. The hotel is nice, and very close to both the airport and the port, so it makes it pretty much hassle-free to get around. Today we did the last little bit of shopping we had left to do. I finally found some sandals to fit my giant size 11 feet, so I am now a happy camper. Mum and I discovered an awesome German restaurant just down the street from our hotel, so we enjoyed a delicious dinner there - you know Mary Ellen is in holiday mode when you catch her with a beer in her hand! We had our final talk with Adam and Kristian (final until we reach Rome in May, I mean) and now have nothing to do but sit back, relax, and repack in the morning. I am going to be so glad to finally get on the ship and unpack these suitcases for a nice LONG time!