Day 2–March 31 – At Sea

We woke up at 9 and called for coffee.  The weather was partly cloudy with 72 degrees and 46% humidity with 24 mph winds.  We got dressed and went up for breakfast at 10:15 and then went to the aft pool area where Glenda got a lounge in the sun and I snagged a table under the overhang.  I read the daily Times Digest and worked the crossword puzzle.  After finishing, I found that my kindle was out of juice, so I took it to the cabin to recharge.  I then went to the Promenade Deck and walked around it for 26 minutes.  I did spot 1 flying fish during my walk.  I returned to the aft pool deck until 1:30.  We were invited to a wine tasting for free due to our Mariner status while many others paid $15 to attend.  Glenda stayed in the sun and I went to the tasting of two whites and three reds.  All were good.  I went back to the aft deck and met Glenda and at 3:20, we went to the cabin so that she could dress to go to bingo.  We did not win.  Tonight was the Captain’s Champagne Toast at 6:45 and it was a formal evening so we went to the cabin to shower and dress for the evening.  After the captain’s toast and introduction of some of the crew, we stayed for the 7:00 Showtime, “Tableaux” put on by the ship’s cast.  It was an excellent show.  We went by the casino and played the penny slots until dinner time.  After dinner, we went to the Queen’s Lounge to the BB King Blues Club to hear a great group of blues singers and musicians.  At 10, we stopped by the Ocean Bar to listen to Brensley and the HALcats play.  The entertainment so far has been great.  At 10:40, we returned to the cabin and turned in.

Day 1–March 30 – DFW to Ft. Lauderdale

We got up at 3am to prepare for our 4:15 car to the airport.  We arrived at DFW at 5:15 after a detour due to highway construction..  Checking in, 2 of our bags were overweight and after paying the $200 fee, we went to security where my new knees apparently set off the the screening machine.  I was then patted down by TSA and cleared.  We took off on time and landed at 10 in Ft. Lauderdale.  We had our bags by 10:20 and waited for the bus to the port.  We arrived at the port at 11:35, checked in and boarded at 12:15.  We unpacked our carry-on bags and went to explore the ship as this was our first time on the Eurodam.  We returned to our cabin at 2 and then at 3:15, attended the lifeboat drill.  At 3:40, since the elevators were all packed, we climbed from deck 4 up the stairs to deck 9 for the sail-away at 4.  My new knees worked great.  We stayed until 5 before returning to our cabin where our luggage had been delivered.  We unpacked and managed to find a place for everything even though this cabin is smaller than the one on the Amsterdam.  We went to dinner at 8:15 and our table was for 2 on the rail of the upper level.  At 9:30, we went to the Main Stage to meet the cruise activity staff and at 10, we went to the casino for a free game of bingo for prizes.  We did not win.  At 10:30, we went to the jewelry shop for a drawing for several prizes including  a $800 watch.   We did not win here either.  We got to our cabin at 10:50 and went to bed.  During the day, we ran into Rodel, Dante, Christian and Rommel, bar staff from previous cruises as well as Teo, who is our wine steward and was on our last cruise.

All packed and ready to go

We just locked and strapped the bags for our cruise.  The car comes to take us to the airport tomorrow morning at 4:30 for our flight to Ft. Lauderdale.  We will then board the MS Eurodam and  have 6 days at sea before arriving at Ponta Delgada, Portugal.  We are really ready to get on the sea again.

LINH DAT BAT NHA THAP Temple

On our way home, we stopped by the LINH DAT BAT NHA THAP Temple, also in Garland.  It is a very large compound with many beautiful statues.

Jade Buddha for Universal Peace

We went to the TINH XA NGOC CHIEN Temple in Garland, Texas to see the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace which is on tour around the world.  It was consecrated in Sydney in December 2009.  Its stay here end Sunday March 16.