Day 42.. Ft Lauderdale for the final stop..

after such a beautiful day in Half Moon Cay yesterday our overnite ride back home to Ft Lauderdale was a bumpy and wet one with a cold front blasting thru in the Bahamas ...we disembarked the ship at 845am.. got picked up by the Hertz shuttle and we were off on our long 12 hour drive home on I-95  in our rental minivan .. arrived at 915pm... back home to reality ...  we sure had fun and good times on this special cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary
42 day roundtrip Ft Lauderdale-Europe Cruise Map

My SmugMug Galleries -- daily pics of the cruise

Funchal Sleigh Ride video.. wee.. wee... weee....weeeeeeeeee

Day 41...Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

we arrived at the anchorage just off Half Moon Cay at 8am and were onboard the first tender onto the island...partly cloudy skies greeted us to a Rainbow as we walked along the beach towards our favorite spot... the skies quickly cleared and  temps got up to the low 80's as we spent a wonderful day on this pretty island with friends friends ruth..Fran and Bill...80* water temps made for a great day in the water also..the ship's staff manned the BBQ pit  for a great outdoors lunch.... as always when the time came to leave around 145pm and ride the tender back to the ship  we were a bit gloomy as this island is truly a mini-paradise...    upon leaving the anchorage near 3pm the ship made it's final turn northward on our journey back to Ft Lauderdale  and the end of our cruise..  the skies opened up with a rain squall as we passed by the eastern shore of Eleuthera island ... we said goodbyes to our favorite Dining Room Steward Ambara  and other staff at dinner in the dining room

with our friend Capt Jolly the island's charter Captain..

Day 40..day at sea

it was one more day at sea before our stop at Half Moon Cay tomorrow....started off with a pretty sunrise ..blue skies and 81* temps all day with light winds..so it was out onto the Navigation deck-aft all day..  a special Seafood 'Boofay' lunch was setup around the Lido pool deck area.. very similar to last years on this cruise...plenty of large Jumbo-shrimp...mussels..king crab legs...grilled lobster tails..whole lobsters...cold lobster tails.. all you care to eat...oink..oink..piggy..piggy... looks like we won't be looking to have lobster for a while..burp..burp...  great spread..very nicely done....

our friend Ruth checking out the lobsters and crab legs

 

 

Day 39..day at sea

a cloudy non-sunrise gave way to partly sunny skies until noon with a rain squall passing thru creating a nice 'reach out and almost touch it' rainbow on the starboard side aft... after the rain the sun popped back out for the remainder of the afternoon so it was on the Navigation Deck-aft  for us.. tonite was the last formal nite of the ten formal nites on this 42 day cruise  with more lobster lobster lobster...it sure went by fast ...

Day 38...day at sea

yet another beautiful day with  calm seas....sunny blue skies and 79* as we make our way closer to Half moon Cay, Bahamas...just a relaxing day sitting poolside on the Navigation Deck-aft doing what I do best... tonite the Philipino staff put on their show and as always a lot of fun ..

Day 37..day at sea

...after today we have three more days at sea before arriving in Half moon Cay, Bahamas on Thursday morning...a beautiful sunny day with temps at 79*....so it was back on the Navigation Deck-aft for some more 'rays'...  the casino hostess was nice enuff to send us along with our friends Fran and Bill to the Pinnacle for dinner tonite...very nice...'if it's free it'sfor me'...  some time spent in the casino afterwards ..the ship cancelled the Chocolate Desert Extravaganza supposedly because the seas were too rough... a lame excuse.. ..

Day 36..day at sea

started off before sunrise with heavy rain squalls that lasted until about 9am...  we had a Mariner cocktail party which we attended.. afterwards it was a Mariner Luncheon which Pat went to with our friend Ruth...  I went outside and did what I do best.. on the Navigation Deck-aft.. Mariner Luncheons are not my favorite event..I'd rather eat lunch in the Lido boofay...  the sun stayed out the rest of the day with now calm flat seas reminiscent of last year's crossing... a special Heritage Dinner theme tonite in the dining room with entres from Indonesia and the Philippines as specialties.. some were hot hot hot.. and very good

Day 35..day at sea

started off as a partly cloudy day at sunrise...  the sun broke thru and it was onto the Navigation Deck-aft to get some 'rays' as the temps got up to 75* thruout most of the day with sunny skies...  another formal nite--Black and White Dinner--  with lobster  as the highlite..  five more sea days and we'll be at our next to last port of call--Half Moon Cay, Bahamas as the cruise is winding down...back to three hours difference in time from back home...  still meeting some 'strange-eccentric' people onboard .. this might even top last year's group for odd-ducks :) :)