The map above shows New Orleans, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. As the trip progresses, a line will show our route. |
Okay... If you follow our adventures, you'll have to ask yourself, "How did Greg pull another cruise off after they just went on one three months earlier?"
In the beginning, the Carnival Conquest, out of New Orleans, was the cruise we had originally put together. A cruise with the Browns' seemed to be the right thing to do after we had recently invited them to Orlando and had a great time with them. Greg was very satisfied with this. But when Eugene, Greg's Carnival Consultant, (1-800-819-3902 Ext 82462--Tell him Greg sent you!) called Greg just two weeks before the kid's Spring Break, it was just too good of a price and adventure to pass up the Panama Canal cruise.
Thus, Greg broke the news to the family that we were going to do two cruises back to back, one in March and one in July.
It was actually mind boggeling to get home from one cruise and get ready for the next. We actually found most everything packed for the Conquest. Guess we just never unpacked from the Legend.
As July came around, the Lindsey's and the Browns' got together to start their adventure. This was the first time that we had travelled with a group. Included in the group were Brannon, Trina, Shelby and Bodie Brown, Trina's mom Bonnie, Bonnie's sister Elaine and Brannon's daughter Jeny. Jeny was a last minute addition to the group. With just a couple of days before we left, Trina invited Jenny. Thanks to Eugene again, he got her on board and just down the hallway.
The only scary moment before the cruise was when we were notified that the Carnival Conquest may not sail out of New Orleans due to the rising water in the Mississippi River. Seems that there power lines which crossed the river and were now endangering safe clearance. We were told that we would sail out of Gulf Port which meant no fun in New Orleans. Two weeks before departure, we were again notified that we would be the first sailing out of New Orleans. Good timing.
Video Reminder: If you hate to read, enjoy our adventure by viewing the video clips. This is a five minute movie edited from our DVD. There are two file sizes to accommodate your patience. Click here to view the video. This required Quicktime which is installed on most computers. If not, there is a free link to download Quicktime.
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The trip begins... Getting from Safford to New Orleans.
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Preston and Brooklyn are great travelers. They don't even have to be in baby seats any more and they can put on their own seat belts. What a relief. Part of the trip to Phoenix is traveling through a tunnel. Brooklyn always hold up the roof in case the tunnel falls down and holds her breath until we get to the other side. |
It's strange to be traveling through the desert and four hours later, be next to the Mississippi River and the ocean. |
Of course, the problem with living in Safford is the three hour drive to Phoenix to catch the next flight out. It was a little more fun with the Browns tagging along. It made the drive more interesting as Brannon and Greg fought for front position.
Of course, with more people, come more pit stops. But Greg always gets us out early and the extra pit stop was not a factor. |
Phoenix Airport...
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Technology has changed everything for air travel. Between all the electronic toys that the kids had, we figured they would never even know we left the ground, unless their batteries went dead. |
Arriving at the airport, things went smoothly. Parking, baggage (21 pieces), check-in, security and the long walk only took up the rest of Greg's extra time. We still found time to set down and take a deep breath. |
Of course Greg and Trina still could not get into the mood of vacation. They were constantly checking in on work to make sure things were going smoothly. |
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The flight was uneventful. No batteries went dead. The straight through flight to New Orleans only took about three and a half hours. Trina started out strong keeping the kids entertained, but finally dozed off from the long night of packing and getting organized. |
Disaster Strikes as we Arrive in New Orleans...
Arriving in New Orleans was just a few days after a hurricane had just passed through. Rainy, gloomy, and muggy is what met us as we stepped off the plane. We quickly met up with Jeny who had earlier flown into New Orleans from Wyoming.
After collecting our luggage, we had met up with our shuttle driver and stuffed everyone into the shuttle. Things were going great until Greg joked about everyone making sure they had their birth certificates. A birth certificate is a vital piece of documentation which is needed to board a cruise vessel. Jeny was very quiet over the next several minutes as she was trying to find a way to tell everyone that she might have forgotten her birth certificate.
At that moment, the shuttle became a communication shuttle. Everyone that had a cell phone was busily trying to make things happen. Greg was calling Eugene at Carnival to find out what could be done. Trina was trying to call Fed Ex and Airborne to find out what time they closed. Jeny was on the phone trying to get her neighbor to break into her house and locate the birth certificate which she had no idea where her mom and dad had it located. The neighbor found the document and headed to the airport where Trina had Fed Ex, at a quarter past 5, hold up the plane.
At 5:30, the neighbor called and said the document was on the way and would arrive at the hotel on Saturday morning.
Settled in at the Hotel, We Tour New Orleans...
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The river walk is where a cargo ship had lost an engine and ran into the pier, December of 1994. 116 people were injured. |
Trina and Jeny visited the Speedo Store. What could be in store for Brannon and Greg. |
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The kids already felt the strain of the parents as they were placed in jail. |
Inside the mall was the Fudgery. The man in the background was mixing chocolate spread out on a granit table. He had to constantly scoop up the chocolate as it oozed over the side. |
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Enjoying a fast bite of food. |
On Sunday, the black night behind us would be replaced with the Carnival Conquest. |
We soon laughed about the birth certificate fiasco and got on with the vacation. We had today and tomorrow to explore New Orleans. Trina had already been to New Orleans and had everything scoped out. She was in charge of the tour.
Right down the road was the River Walk. Newly renovated, it was a fun place to take the kids. Trina had also found out that this is where the Carnival Conquest would arrive and be waiting for us in two days. After viewing the pier, the group noticed that Trina and Jeny had taken off to the Speedo store. More on this later.
After a quick fast food stop, we returned to the hotel where we met up with Bonnie and Elaine.
Tomorrow would be a day of exploring New Orleans and the French Quarter.
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