January 5-8, 2026 Caribbean Cruise

Monday, January 5, 2026

Tampa, Florida - Out to sea!

Morning came too early, but we were both much more rested today. After breakfast at the hotel, we took a shuttle to the port. They said it was 20 minutes … HA! After loading passengers at our hotel, we stopped at another then two cruise terminals before arriving at ours … almost an hour later! Phil and Marcia were awaiting our arrival so we all boarded the ship at the same time.

It was time for lunch so we made our way to the Versailles Restaurant for a pretty tasty lunch before exploring the ship. Around 3pm our rooms were ready so we dropped off our backpacks and changed into swimsuits. We enjoyed a drink by the pool and the sail-away crew entertainment as we departed Tampa about 4pm. We spotted a few dolphins and looked back at the Carnival Paradise ship and the Margaritaville ship behind us.




Our dinner reservations were at La Cucina, an Italian restaurant. I had the pork marsala and Tobey had the shrimp. Mine was very tender and good but Tobey’s shrimp were overcooked, so I shared! We went to the Broadway Cabaret show in the theater. It was a nice way to round out the evening. Phil called it a night and headed back their room while Tobey, Marcia, and I grabbed another drink before turning in.

So far, the seas are calm and we are working on the relaxation mode! The moon isn’t full, but it definitely beautiful to see from our balcony. My phone tends to make the nighttime photos look more like day, but this was it!

Good night for now!

January 6, 2026

Another day in the books! One of the great things about a day at sea on a cruise is you really don’t have to hurry for anything! We had arranged to meet up with Marcia and Phil at 10, so we slept in a bit then headed out for breakfast. We ended up at the Versailles Restaurant and shared a table with a couple from Tennessee. It was pleasant and we enjoyed their company. Afterwards, Marcia, Tobey, and I strolled around the ship and stopped to get a drink by the pool when it started to sprinkle! We headed inside to walk around and fortunately, it stopped soon. Phil joined us and we found a spot that wasn’t windy (because it has been VERY windy) and played a game of Phase 10 Flip. Phil was the winner! Lunch was next up on the agenda so we checked out O’Sheehan’s. The food was okay, but none of us said we had to go back! They were going to take naps and we put our swimsuits on and found some sheltered lounge chairs where we could get a little sun and read.

We got together around 6 and grabbed a drink before heading to the Stardust Theater for the magic/contortionist show. Before going into the theater, we took a quick look outside and could see lights in the distance. We were supposed to be passing by Cuba, so I am hoping this is a picture of Cuban lights in the distance!

The magician/illusionist was good and his wife who is a contortionist was amazing. An unusual combination for a show, but very entertaining. We followed the show with a late dinner at the Aqua Restaurant. Tobey and I both had the Boston Blue fish which was delicious.
Marcia's steak:
Afterwards we all headed to the Bliss Lounge to listen to some music before calling it a night. I’m sitting on the sofa with our balcony door open enjoying the sound of the waves. Tomorrow is another day at sea so we are hoping for sunny skies and warmer temperatures!
Night sky:


January 7, 2026 - STILL at sea

We had a better view of Cuba this morning.

Tobey and I had breakfast at the Garden Café Buffet this morning – nothing exciting, but the fruit was good and my omelet was hot and made with my choice of ingredients, so life is good! We met up with Phil and Marcia and walked a lap and a half around the ship before heading to the Bliss Lounge to watch NCL’s version of “Deal or No Deal.” It was entertaining and a few people won money. (Of course, you had to buy your cards to participate. Maybe we will do it next time! Lunch was at the Aqua Restaurant. Tobey is a “Pepsi” guy and they have Coke products on the ship. He tries to order a Pepsi at every restaurant and they inform his, “Sorry, sir, but we have Coke.” Today he told our waiter that would be okay, but when he brings it to tell him it is Pepsi. He did, so Tobey gave him a 5-Star rating! We also had an announcement from the Captain during lunch that he was going to be speeding up the ship to arrive in the Dominican Republic at 2:00am, instead of 7:00am because of a medical emergency. We hoped whatever it is, the person isn’t in too much distress! After lunch we headed to Deck 13 for some sun-time. After an hour, we split up and I found a shady spot to read after about an hour and Tobey wandered back to the cabin to rest. View from our cabin:
We met up with Phil and Marcia for dinner at the Ginza Restaurant. Tobey and Marcia were happy having sushi! The food was pretty good and we had an enjoyable dinner before heading to the theater for tonight’s show, “Women of Rock.” WOW! It was great - and we cleaned up pretty good!

Tomorrow we arrive in the Cabo Rojo, Dominican Republic and can depart the ship after 7:00am. It’s a short port stop, back on the ship by 2pm. Hopefully, we’ll be able to connect to internet and I can post!

January 8, 2026 – Cabo Rojo, Dominican Republic

We had breakfast with Phil and Marcia then gathered our things and got of the ship at Cabo Rojo in the Dominican Republic. It’s an unusual port. It’s about a 20-minute bus ride to get into to the town of Pedernales, which is a very small town. At the port they have built a small “town” where there are shops, bars, a Ferris wheel and a “beach” area with a lazy river.


This picture was taken from the Ferris wheel.

We looked around a little then took the free shuttle bus into town. At the town square we saw some school children dancing for the tourists and local vendors selling their wares.
After talking with a young woman (17) who was a senior in high school we headed to a small café so Phil could use their internet. From there we walked about 8 blocks to the beach.

Tobey made friends with the local police and they posed for a picture with him, then it was back to the shuttle bus. Back on board about 1pm - sail away at 2pm.

We had lunch then played cards and took a lap around the ship and spotted this island.

We are going to the Versailles Restaurant tonight and the show is a juggler. We’ll see how it is!

Tomorrow we arrive in Curacao around 1pm. We have a shore excursion scheduled, so we’ll let you know how it goes later! That’s all for now.

January 4, 2026 - Fort Collins, CO to Tampa, FL

We are starting the year off with a Caribbean cruise!

Our morning started early - both of us were awake before the 4:30am alarm. Needless to say, it was a short night! Our friend, Gary picked us up at 6:00am and drove us to the transit center for our shuttle to the airport. Thank you, Gary!!

The flight went off without any problems despite being bumpy going out of Denver. I tuned into a documentary, Becoming Led Zeppelin. It was great! I shared one of my earbuds with Tobey after he finished his movie so he could enjoy the music, too. I think I will need to see it again! 

After checking into the hotel, Tobey hooked up the computer to stream the Broncos game. It was an ugly game, but at least they won. We had pizza delivered and it was good, too. 

Tomorrow we shuttle to the port to embark on the Norwegian Star at 11:30am for our 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise. We will be joined by our friends, Phil and Marcia, and look forward to relaxing and enjoying the sandy beaches. Our first couple of days we are at sea as we head to Curacao and Aruba before making our back back north. We won't have much internet, so I'm not sure how much I will be able to post. We do have an unlimited drink package, so I'm also not sure how much I will be able to post - HAHAHA!!! 

We are both tired, so that's all for tonight! Bon voyage.

October 3, 2025 - Dusseldorf, Germany to Fort Collins, Colorado

We had a 3:00am wake-up this morning to catch our 4:15am shuttle to the airport. Needless to say, it was a short night! 

Once we were through security, we found the Priority Lounge and had some breakfast and relaxed before getting to the gate for our 7:20 flight - which was late departing. I think there is a trend here! ANYWAY, after 3-1/2 hours flying we were back in Istanbul in time for lunch! We went to the Priority Lounge and Tobey ordered chicken (cooked while he waited) and some yummy noodles in a mushroom sauce. Fruit and a small dessert rounded out the meal. It was much busier than the last time we were there - probably because it was noon. We headed to our gate for the 2:20pm flight back to Denver ... guess what? It was also late departing! We opted to stay awake the entire 12hour, 50 minute flight in hopes of reducing our jetlag, and I think it did help. We watched lots of movies and I read part of the time. Of course, we arrived late to Denver, but we breezed through customs and had to wait for luggage, so we missed the earlier shuttle we hoped to catch by 10 minutes. We hung out until our reserved time of 7:50, and Groome was late - arriving after 8:00pm ... Theme for the day.  We finally arrived back in Fort Collins about 9:15 and our friend, Wendy, picked us up and took us home. 

We did a quick unpacking and were off to bed around 10:00pm. Needless to say, we both slept pretty well after being up over 24 hours. 

I want to share a few more pictures, facts, and impressions of our trip, but it will take me a couple days. In the meantime, to quote Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, "there's no place like home!"

October 2, 2025 - Dusseldorf, Germany

We were up in time to see Amelia before she was off to Kindergarten this morning. She is a precocious four year old and it was sure fun to see her. After she left, we got ready to leave and said our goodbyes to Stephan and Ashley before beginning our last day in Germany.

Just a side note if you are not familiar with the German school system. In Germany, Kindergarten is an educational facility for children aged three to seven that is similar to American preschool. It focuses on socialization, independence, and play-based learning to prepare them for primary school.

Our first stop was to see Die Kaiserpfalz in Kaiserwerth, the remains of a 12th century castle along the Rhine River. The first challenge was driving through Dussedorf-Kaiserwerth trying to find a place to park. We lucked into a spot a few blocks from this street. We didn't know if you had to pay for parking, but we had seen a police woman checking all the cars as we went by. There was a kind fisherman coming back to his car and we asked him. He didn't speak English and we don't speak German, but he was very helpful. He showed us a timer sticker and said you could park free for two hours. We looked in the glovebox of the rental, and sure enough, we had one also. We set the time and showed him and he gave us a thumbs up.

From our parking it was a short walk to the castle.
All of the signs were in English and German which was great for us. The picture is what they think the castle looked like originally.

It was fun wandering through and seeing everything.


There were wonderful views overlooking the Rhine River.



Afterwards, we walked along the Rhine for quite a while. We even spotted a large "caravan" RV park across the river. Many of the streets in the smaller areas are so small, there is NO WAY I would want to drive a motorhome here!

We decided to grab a doner sandwich since it was getting close to lunchtime. It was pretty tasty. Tobey wanted to explore a little more, so we drove around and through the countryside a bit. I decided I had enough of the tiny roads so we fueled up the rental car and went to check in to the Hotel Villa Casa. We unloaded the suitcases and headed to the airport to turn in the car. It only took a couple spins around the airport before we found the rental car garage, but we made it! Then came the next challenge ... taking the bus back to the hotel. With the help of the woman at the information booth, we headed outside the terminal and found the correct station. We thought we had the right bus, but it wasn't going where our map showed it should go, so we hopped off and walked to the next station. Well ... long story short - after a 20 minute walk we ended up getting on the same bus we had gotten off!!! I'm sure the driver was thinking we were absolutely nuts, but that's okay, we probably won't ever see him again!

We rearranged the suitcases and had some down time this afternoon to catch up on some emails before heading out to find some dinner. Our shuttle to the airport leaves at 4:15AM so we will be going to bed soon. Tomorrow will be a LONG travel day - Dusseldorf to Istantbul, a short layover, then Istanbul to Denver. It's been a great trip, but we are both looking forward to being home.

October 1, 2025 - Dusseldorf, Germany

Tobey was up early and visited with Stephan, Ashley, and Amelia before they left for work and Kindergarten. I, on the other hand, slept in and had a lazy start to the day. Around 11, we took the train from a stop near their house to the old part of town to do some exploring.

Tobey had downloaded a walking tour and we tried to hit most of the stops - even if we did backtrack and miss some!

The Haus der Universitat at Schadowplatz

Steigenberger Parkhotel below was built and opened in 1902. It sustained significant damage during WWII, and post-war was used by American and British occupying forces.

Kriegerdenkmal im Hofgarten is a war memorial stands on a remodeled remnant of the former city fortifications in the Hofgarten. The monument was inaugurated in 1892 and is dedicated to the fallen Dusseldorf soldiers of the German Wars of Unification and Franco-German War.
The Church of St. Andreas is a Roman Catholic church located in the center of Dusseldorf.

We also visited the Dusseldorf Memorial and Education Center. It is dedicated to all the victims of Nazi persecution in Dusseldorf. Unfortunately, all of the signage was in German and they were out of headsets, so we did our best. From 1933 to 1945 the Gestapo offices were located in the west wing of the building complex. There were hundreds of pictures of victims and even a bomb shelter in the lower part of the building. It was very well done, even if we couldn't read the signs.

The Neanderkirche in the center of Dusseldorf was built in 1684.

Altes Rathaus, the old town hall in Dusseldorf, is the wing on the northern side of the market square. It was built between 1570 and 1573 as the office and meeting place for mayors and the city council.

We walked on the boardwalk along the Rhine River enjoying the views. There were lots of restaurants and places to stop and relax. Barges were going up and down the Rhine all day.

The round white building behind us is the Schifffahrtsmuseum (maritime museum). We walked by but there was some construction going on, so we just enjoyed the view.

We enjoyed the architecture and views all around the city.

This sculpture in Dusseldorf's Old town is really bizarre, but it is to remind people of the struggles of war. It is located behind St. Lambertus, the tallest and most famous church in the city.


This is the front of the church.

After a long day exploring, we made the decision to walk back to Stephan and Ashley's since it was only about 3-1/2 miles. Maybe we're crazy, but it was fun seeing different neighborhoods along the way. We also went by the Goethe Museum which is dedicated to the German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The building was beautiful!

We arrived back at the house about 5pm after a full day. We all went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner. After Amelia went to bed, we had a little time to visit before before calling it a day. Stephan leaves tomorrow for Oktoberfest in Munich and Ashley has a workday. We will do some sight seeing before heading to our hotel before our early morning flight heading home (via Istanbul!).

September 30, 2025 - Erbach to Dusseldorf, Germany

Tobey still wasn't feeling the best this morning so Bernhard took us to a local pharmacy. After talking to them, they gave Tobey a couple different medicines to help calm his stomach and hopefully, he will be on the mend. 

We took off from Erbach for our 6 hour drive to Dusseldorf. I have driven on the autobahn before, but there was much more traffic today, as well as road construction (lots of it), and rain - lots of it! The fortunate thing about driving in Germany is that people understand that the left lane is for passing, not dawdling along. You put your turn signal on, you pass the slower cars, and put your signal back on and move back into the right lane. It works very well, thank goodness! 

We had a small stop along the way for lunch and arrived at Stephan and Ashley's about 6pm. They fixed a lovely dinner and we had a nice time visiting with them this evening. Their daughter, Amelia, is four and was off to bed around 7:45. We followed around 9pm and we plan to do a walking tour of Dusseldorf while they are at work tomorrow. 

September 29, 2025 - Elchingen, Germany to Erbach, Germany

Tobey slept and slept yesterday - probably 15 hours - and seemed to have helped. He managed to eat a small breakfast and we decided to go ahead to Erbach to see Stephan's parents. It was about a 30 minute drive and we had a wonderful visit with Marlies and Bernhard. 

We love how easy it is to be with them. It's been two years since we have seen them, but we are able to pick up our friendship like we saw them last week. Lots of talking, sharing memories, new ideas, and great discussions. 

Tobey still isn't 100% but I think he is on the mend. Tomorrow we are planning to leave here and head to Dusseldorf to see Stephan and his family.