Yes, friends, it’s time to get onto a ship again. Not for a crossing this time but, rather, for a cruise. (Remember the difference?) 

But first – to set the scene – a flashback from November, 2005 – exactly 10 years ago today:

AAC CPA and I were sailing with my sister, Leslie, and her husband, Ron, on our first Crystal Serenity voyage and, yes, it was a crossing from Lisbon to Ft. Lauderdale. We were bedazzled by the ship and the service and the people we were meeting, starting on the 1^st night while we were awaiting our departure.

A mysterious lady’s hand came across the railing from her balcony to ours. “I have champagne and caviar over here!” she cried. “So do we!”, I responded invitingly, “so come and join us”. She was Ann, traveling solo and writing an article for Cigar Magazine. How much fun is that?

Anyway, through her we met other passengers – for instance, Steve and Ian,  a great couple from San Francisco – and, because she was always on the lookout for other interesting people, her gaze fell upon two very handsome young men she referred to as “The Bahrain Boys”. This was because she didn’t know their names nor, apparently, did anyone else. Although we saw them from afar, we never had the opportunity to meet them – all very mysterious!!

Flash forward to a couple of days later when we decided to throw a little cocktail party in our cabin. Our dedicated and superb butler, Ural, asked me to give him our guest list so that invitations could be printed and delivered. Well, we definitely wanted to include the mysterious “Bahrain Boys”, and that’s what I put down on the guest list. Our Ural is an intrepid problem solver. Sure enough, he figured out who they were and – Lo and Behold! – they attended our little soiree.

Turns out they were (are) Jamie and Kurt, who were not Bahraini at all but American and Australian and living in Bahrain at the time. HAH!

Here are a few images from that delightful voyage:

AAC CPA with the aforesaid Leslie & Ron – 10 years ago today!

Leslie & Ron do Formal Night

Jamie & Kurt a/k/a The Bahrain Boys

Ann, Ian & Steve

Long story short, we hit it off with them and have remained in touch ever since, seeing each other when we’re in the same city at the same time.

So now we fast forward to about a year ago when I received an email from Kurt, who had just started his own cruise travel business:

Kurt’s Enterprise

And Kurt asked us if we’d help him launch his business by agreeing to join him on a Thanksgiving 2015 cruise aboard Celebrity Silhouette. We thought about it for about 10 seconds and thought: “Why the heck not?” After all, it will be a chance to spend some quality time with Jamie and Kurt and, also, maybe some of the gang from our original 2005 Crystal Serenity crossing. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

Sad to say, Ann, Leslie and Ron won’t be aboard, but the rest of the gang will be.

Check out the ship here:

Celebrity Silhouette: Our Home Next Week

Celebrity Silhouette

So, on Saturday next, AAC CPA fly down to Ft. Lauderdale, where we’ll spend the night and, the very next day, board Silhouette for a fun-filled 7 days sailing to the Caribbean and back. Best part: 3 sea days!! Woo-hoo!!! We’ve been to the Caribbean many times and the ports this time – Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten – don’t hold a lot of allure. Plus, I’ve heard that the ship is pretty gorgeous, so I figure that we’ll have the run of the ship when the other passengers disembark on port days.

TRAVEL TIP: When traveling out of town to board a ship, I highly suggest that you arrive a day early. We don’t want to take a chance on missing the ship if your flight is canceled (especially on a transatlantic crossing)!! You’ll literally be standing on the dock with your, ahem, luggage in your hands.

So, assuming we have decent Internet on the ship (unlike the recent QM2 Internet fiasco!!!), you’ll be hearing from me during the cruise.

And, if you’ve already sailed on our ship, please let me know what you thought about it. I haven’t been on a ship that’s new to us since we sailed on Serenity back in 2005.

PS. Please wish AAC CPA good luck with his packing over the next few days. You know how he gets!

PPS. Allegedly we have a jacuzzi on our private balcony:

AAC CPA ponders life, jacuzzi-style