Wednesday and Jamaica

Wednesday started really early - too early - and we had to scoot to get to our excursion - swimming with the dolphins, climbing Dunn's River Falls and shopping. It was a bit overcast but still warm. We were divided into groups, put into lifejackets and assigned a dolphin. Ours was Mitch. We got into the water with our group and had the most amazing time swimming and playing with Mitch. Of course, pictures and video were taken, and we bought them all!

In our group were Kendra and Mark, a couple from the Bay Area who became our cruise friends. We went to Dunn's River Falls after the dolphins and were again in a group with them to climb the falls. The guides had us hold hands and climb the 600 foot falls in a single file, which has got to be the most inefficient and unsafe way to do this! We later hypothesized that it was really just a way to keep groups together so the video guy could easily capture the group on film, and it also provided MANY opportunities for photo ops, all of which were available for purchase at the end. It was still a neat climb, although I think I would rather do it without the guide.

Kim and I skipped the shopping part of the trip and headed back to the boat. We got dry clothes on and took a nap, although I tried to disguise mine as "reading". I was on the indoor pool deck all snuggy in my hoody and fell asleep after 2 pages.

After our nap, we headed out to watch Oakhurst play as we sailed away from Ocho Rios. Unfortunately, about 3 songs in it started to pour so we headed in while the guys covered the equipment and took cover. It was time for a shower and the Pajama Party! I think the whole cruise should have been a Pajama Party - it was sooooo comfortable! On our way dinner, we ran into Ed and asked him for a picture. He kindly obliged and I died a little. We meet our new friends in line for dinner and sat with them. We were again treated to our waiters dancing to a loud dance remix of something.

I watched another Brothers Creegan show, this time in the Atrium on the smallest stage on the ship. They managed to cram a baby grand, stand up bass, small drum kit and 5 musicians on it! It was a great show - better than the first one I saw earlier. To wrap up the night, I watched Steve's solo gig, Vanity Project, which was much better than I expected. Unfortunately, after 4 days of jamming with every group on the ship, Steve was losing his voice - not a good sign for our big concert the next night!

Some more pics:


Welcome to Ocho Rios! Or as BNL say, Welcome Tochorios!

Getting the dolphins ready for us

Oakhurst, before the rain. For once we had a good spot on the deck, too!!

Kim, Ed and Jenn

Brothers Creegan

Vanity Project


Another towel creature - we have no idea what this was!

Pictures are working!

OK - looks like I can get pics to post here. Here's some more:


Jenn and Kim in the elevator.


Jenn and Kim being blown away on the Lido deck watching a concert at night.


Jenn and Kim going to see the sting rays.


Tyler and Ed discussing the songs on their upcoming children's CD.


Towel creature made by our room steward - we think it's a pig??


Guster in concert


Jenn and Kim having beer (in our S&D III) coozies) and pizza at midnight - because we could!


Arriving in Grand Cayman


Kim driving the boat to the stingrays.


Oooooh! Stingrays in the water! Freaky!


Kissing a stingray


Holding a stingray - the guide was telling me to relax, and I'm, like, buddy - I am as relaxed as I will be with a STINGRAY IN MY ARMS!!


Kim and Jenn and the boat. There were 7 ships in Grand Cayman that day.


The Carnival Victory from our tender back to the boat.


Great Big Sea in concert sailing from Grand Cayman.


Ed on the stage with Great Big Sea in his speedo.

Back on Land

Well, sorry for the silence the past few days. We have just been waaaaay too busy to find time to post! We have debarked the ship and are in Miami airport waiting for our flights, which are 4 hours from now... I am hoping that the airport has a better internet connection than the ship and will try to catch up the blog.

It was a bit of a rushed morning - I didn't get to bed until 4:30 AM after watching the major jam session of every band member on the cruise up on the Lido deck. It was a bit of a hoot as they basically sang a chorus or verse or two to every song from the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's to a steady backbeat of percussion and guitar strumming. From the Who to Duran Duran to Sesame Street - every one had the opportunity to be "honored". They were still going strong after 2 hours when I decided I really needed to get to bed.

The fine plan Kim and I laid out for the morning went down the drain when we were awakened by the woman over the loudspeaker at 7 AM telling us to begin debarkation. I was just half-packed and needed to shower. Kim was more packed, but still - the plan was to get up at 8, eat breakfast at 9 and leave the boat around 10 to get to the airport in time for our 2 PM flights. We scrambled out - and weren't the only ones confused about the rush to debark - and here we sit.

I am going to try to upload some old pictures here - hopefully this will work this time!


Ed doing a fan photo before we left Miami. Yup, it was pretty much this way the whole cruise - see 'em in the halls, on the stairs, say "hi", get your picture taken, totally normal...


The reason for the delay in leaving Miami? Loading the equipment for 20 bands from the dock to the upper deck of the ship using one crane...


Getting ready for the opening concert. I was able to move up a bit when the opened up another section.


The opening concert.

Sunset in Miami as we leave the port - finally!