Caution! Rough seas ahead.

Back to back sea days for the last of our time aboard the Carnival Dream.  Upon leaving Jamaica, we headed northwest around the island, and then past Cuba.  Once we cleared Cuba, it was almost a straight shot north up to New Orleans.  The weather on Friday started out hot, but there was a lot of wind because we were really moving (about 30 km/hr, when we've typically been going about 20 km/hr for most of the trip).  We spent a few hours out on the Panorama Deck this morning enjoying the sun and trying to keep our belongings from ending up at the aft of the ship.  By 11:45 am it was completely overcast with rainclouds threatening so we packed it in and went for lunch.  We were only at our table for about 10 minutes when the drenched masses started streaming in.  Good timing on our part!

After lunch, we spent some time reading in the cabin.  Afterwards, I went up to the gym for an hour and Andrew hung out on the balcony watching the ocean rage. 

Oh - and check out the wave pool resulting from all the movement of the ship!  They had to drain the pool right after we shot this video.  It was making the deck too slippery with all the water sloshing out.

The rest of the day was fairly standard for us:  dinner, an hour out on the lanai for Andrew's scotch and cigar, reading, bed.  Some fellow passengers had attended the Captain's talk this afternoon, and they reported to us that Saturday was expected to be another day of rough seas.  As well, the Captain had stated that the entry in to New Orleans would be a bit challenging because of wind, high tide and swells.  He stated that we may be late getting in to port, but extra time on the ship is just fine with us.  

Here's a night version of the ocean from our balcony.  I had to link to a YouTube post because the file was too big to upload here in any reasonable amount of time.  Sorry!  We were in a cove balcony on this sailing, which is Andrew's favorite because they are very close to the water.  He was absolutely delighted with the waves and spent quite a bit of time out there today watching.  I, accompanied by my bottle of Gravol/Dramamine, went to sleep!

Saturday's weather was a different story. It was sunny, but windy and cold at 56F/13C.  We actually turned the heat on in our cabin!  Up on the Promenade Deck people were wearing long pants and coats.  We even saw a toque or two.  The pool had turned in to a wave pool and was closed.  They drained it by noon because it was flooding the deck.  We read up in the common areas for a couple of hours and then came back to our cabin after lunch to relax.   

Right before dinner was the Platinum and Diamond Guest party.  We are lucky enough to have Platinum status on Carnival, and even luckier to have obtained that status after completing 10 cruises on Carnival.  At that time, it didn't matter if your cruise was 3 days or 14, they each counted as one cruise.  Just after Andrew reached his Platinum status in 2013 (I'm two cruises ahead of him so got there sooner) Carnival changed to the new plan where they count the number of days you have cruised towards your loyalty status.  You now have to sail 75 days to get to Platinum status and 200 to get to Diamond.  I'm now just a few days short of 100, so we have a LONG way to go yet before we reach Diamond.  Oh well, we're happy with our Platinum status.  We always get a "gift" when we get on the ship.  This time it was Tervis tumblers with the Carnival logo - perfect for the trailer!  We also get VIP boarding and debarkation, preferential loading at tender ports, two free drink coupons and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries.  Our favorite perk (other than VIP boarding) is the free laundry service.  On this cruise, we each could have three bags of laundry done for free - or six total.  We used every single one.  Oh - and the Platinum/Diamond party where they give you free cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.  :)

At dinner, we drank the last bottle of wine (we purchased a wine package where you get six bottles of wine for a set price) and said goodbye and thank you (with tips) to our fantastic dining room team Alexandrou, Eloyd and Yousef.   Though we had "Your Time" dining, we sat at the same table every night and they took excellent care of us.  Our room steward, Heru, was also amazing.  All the staff are.  It never ceases to amaze me that they remember not only our names, but my coffee order (iced latte, no sweetener) and Andrew's preferred scotch (double Macallan, neat).  They really put the icing on the cake for these trips.  

That's it for this cruise.  However, we had so much fun we booked another one for January of 2017.  We'll do Carnival's partial transit through the Panama Canal - a bucket list trip for Andrew.  We have a couple of certificates for $200 of onboard credit/cabin that we can give to family or friends who want to join us.  Holler if you want one!  The itinerary is below.  The ship leaves January 2nd from the injecting drug capital of the USA!  Who doesn't want to visit Baltimore in January?!

Carnival Pride - Partial Panama Canal transit - 13 days leaving January 2nd, 2017

  
Postscript:  Despite the rough seas, we made it in to New Orleans without any incident.  Nice driving, Captain!  AND, the holiday isn't over yet!  We've still got two days in the Big Easy before we head home.