"Cruising from Baltimore Harbor 2007" Top 5 Page for this destination Baltimore Travelogue by grandmaR

Grandson at daughter's house with dog

We had a really nice Thanksgiving dinner at our daughter's on the 22nd. But I tried to connect the laptop to the car cigarette lighter and found that they had sent me the wrong connector. They told me that I'd have to send the item back (printing out the address label), and then they'd send me another one.

I finally got the address label printed out on the old Dell (I still have not attached the new computer to the wireless printer because I can't find the printer disc), and then tried to find a place to take it because Mailboxes Etc was closed all weekend. I dropped it in the box up by the courthouse.

Our house

I had also meant to test out the new GPS for the mapping software, but I forgot to bring it on the 22nd, so I took the computer out into the yard to do that. I guess the computer was a little confused because it told us to turn left, and then it turned right and went down Camp Calvert Rd ad out into the water, obviously under the impression that the car was a boat.

I had also asked on one of the websites if Camden (the premier's house in Bermuda) had been reopened after the renovation. Nobody had answered until someone told me to phone and ask. But of course this was late Friday night. I decided I needed to enable the cell phone to be able to phone from Bermuda or in the Caribbean, and was told that I had a past due bill, and was not allowed to make any changes in my account.

When I finally tracked it down, I found that when my credit card number was stolen in June I had reported that it was no longer a good card. In July, I had given them my new number to bill me with, but the old number was still on the website, and they were trying to bill that number (which of course didn't work). They were not sending me any paper bills, so I didn't know what the bill was unpaid. I finally got that taken care of. I put the house (landline) phone on auto answer with a message that says NOT to leave a message.

Trees in our yard

Saturday we picked up the rental car (a Ford Focus) and Bob started putting his luggage in it. He has FIVE bags. He is using my folding rolling cart so that he can take them all at once. I have the little red rolling bag that I used in June (from Mother's), the small black carryon that I used in June, a large yellow duffle (Bob also has a duffle which is red), and the bag I got to hold my new computer.

I used the ATM card at Cedar Point for the first time and got some cash, and also filled my car with diesel, and Bob winterized all of the cars and other rolling stock and took down the flag.

Sunday he turned off the water and put antifreeze in the toilets, and I unplugged the TV and DirecTV and the modem and detached the phone lines except for the phone with the answering machine.

Bathroom sink in the cabin

We left the house a little after nine. I wanted to go across 100 and up New Ridge Rd, but Bob said there weren't any gas stations there (although the mapping software says that there are) so he went around the airport access road and got gas at the Royal Farms station at 1100. The car cost us $20.59 including tax and we went 89 miles altogether. We got the shuttle van to the airport (the driver showed us how to put the luggage on the way we had it strapped together, and Bob tipped him $5.00.

We got a taxi and it cost not quite $27 to get to the cruise ship terminal. However, they had to sniff everyone with a police dog (including all the buses), and the driver had to show a photo ID. It took another $5 worth of waiting time to get through the line to leave our bags. So Bob gave him $40 (which considering that we had 9 bags plus the luggage cart which had to ride in the front wasn't bad).

We gave our luggage to the luggage people (6 bags), and Bob carried on two and I carried on my computer bag. We had to go through security to get into the terminal building - my laptop had to be taken out of the bag etc. Inside, I had done the on-line check-in, entering all our information, and all that worked well. About all he had to do was scan our passports. Then he gave us a Sea and Sail card, and gave us a boarding number of yellow 4. They were at that time calling red boarding numbers.

When they started calling yellow numbers, we went through the line to have our photo taken, and then walked on the ship. It was then about 1255. The signs all said that our rooms wouldn't be ready until 1300 (1:00 pm) but we pushed through the fire door and went to our room which is near the bow right behind the forward elevators on the third deck.

We have a queen bed with a mirror wall headboard, and what appears to be a real curtain so that we can curtain off the bed. There's the usual desk (which has TWO 110 plugs instead of just one), and a little couch. The bathroom is QUITE small, with a round shower.

Beef slice from Windjammer carving station

The TV is on a swivel so it comes out of the cabinet and rotates on a turntable toward the bed. The BIG problem (other than very little storage) is that Bob can't get out from his side of the bed with the TV out of the cabinet. Even with the TV in flat to the cabinet, he has to step over the end of the bed.

We dropped our carry on bags off and went up to the buffet on deck 10. It was a zoo. I was not impressed. I got a little bit of pasta, and a piece of dried out roast beef and some lemonade. I had a momentary brain fart and when the guy came by with the pina coladas, I got a virgin one. It was $5.95!!! Oh well. It was good.

City from the ship

We walked around the ship for a bit and found our table in the dining room and looked at the theatre and then went down and unpacked the suitcases that we had gotten. Then at 1530, we had the lifeboat drill which is two decks up (no elevators). I took a couple of pictures afterwards.

I wanted to take some photos of the city as we left, but we didn't leave right at the time we were scheduled to leave (someone suggested that it might be because people were having luggage problems with the heavy air travel on the Sunday after Thanksgiving), so by the time we left it was dark.

The cruise BB people were going to be up at the Viking lounge (the very top of the ship on deck 11 which you can only get to by the atrium elevators which are glass) for the sail-away. I went up there - Bob said he'd seen enough of that kind of thing when he was in the Navy.

Ivory chocolate fondue

We were supposed to be wearing Carnival beads so that we would know each other, but I hadn't found any. I sat down with some people who proved to be from Dunkirk. I did try to take a couple of photos, but it was pretty dark.

We were early seating at dinner at a table of 10. One of the men at the table was in my TowsonHS class '55. His name is Bill. He was in the print shop group - he didn't remember me at all, and I don't remember him, but his name is familiar. This afternoon a met a lady who was class of '56. Her name was Mary,

On Sunday dinner was OK, but not real special. I had a quiche appetizer, a spinach salad and a steak with some root vegetables and a baked potato. Bob had fish. For dessert, he had apple pie ala mode, and I had something that was called "ivory chocolate fondue with berries and crunchy bits".

Tuesday we get to Bermuda