Cruisin' the Caribbean With Tim!

My body may be back in NY, but my head sure isn't.  What a wonderful week we had on the beautiful Freedom of the Seas.  But, the journey began before we got onboard.  First of all, a few weeks prior to sailing we received our cruise documents and the name badge holder from ScrapMap:

And inside the zippered compartment was the booklet showing which group we were in and the schedule of classes.  For the first time, we wouldn't have to wait until we were on the ship to get that information.  Whoo Hoo!  I could see right away that I was in the class group with just about all my favorite peeps.

I made some ATCs and pins to trade and just give away.  Here is my ATC, front and back (with apologies to The Beach Boys):



This is the pin I made.  I used an inchie stampboard and the cool Lady Liberty stamp I received from Gloria during last year's cruise.

And here is how I presented them:

I just did a simple ATC and attached the pin right to it.

I also wanted to give a little something to both Tim and Mario.  Knowing how they both are into Starbucks, I thought coffee cup cozies (if that is in fact what they are called; I really don't know) would be nice.  I had some NYC fabric from the City Quilter and actually sewed the suckers.  I am no seamstress and the stitches are wonky, not to mention I sewed Mario's so the writing is all upside down, but I think the graphics are nice enough to compensate for my lack of sewing skills.  Oh, and let me mention that they are reversible.  Here they are, first Tim's, then Mario's:







My friend and cabinmate Pat and I left for Florida a day before the cruise began, and stayed at a Disney resort....Port Orleans.....fun place, one big Mardi Gras, and upon entering we received these, to get into the spirit of things:

I thought I took some photos while there, but apparently I left that task to Pat, so whenever she gets her pictures uploaded I'll share them, but all I have are these two of our room.....and our luggage.  Why I thought the luggage was important to document, I don't know.

Saturday night we met up with Elena and Bernie and had a FABULOUS dinner at Joe's Crab Shack in Orlando.  I've wanted to eat there for the longest time, and really enjoyed it.  Thanks, guys!  Again, no photos taken.  What was I thinking?

Finally, Sunday arrived, and Elena and Bernie picked us up and we drove to the ship.  We were onboard in time for lunch, our cabins were ready right after, and our bags came fairly quickly as well. Pat and I were unpacked and settled in before dinner.  Afterwards we had the welcoming reception where we were introduced to Tim's great team, and had the opportunity to swap and get together with both old and new friends.  Here are some of the swaps I received.  I say some, because I keep finding more, hidden in pocket and luggage compartments, so I'm sure there are more.

I wasn't part of the organized charm swap, nor did I make any charms, but I still managed to receive quite a few from some very generous cruisers.  These are only a few.....the rest made their way into a project several days later.



And then, everyone who is a member of ATT got into this group photo with Tim.  Notice all the official ATT t-shirts?  Being tall, I am somewhere in the back row. 

Check out my friend Val's blog for a good look at the ship.  Clearly  she was better at remembering to take photos than I was.

To be continued......