I just got a voicemail that cracked me up...

[Callmecrazy]

My buddy, Squeaky and I met back in 1997 when we were building the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
He lives in Augusta, Ga. and he came down here to So. Fla. for my 50th birthday. We hadn't seen each other in about 5 years and it was great to see him again.
While he was here I told him about the Cruise I'm going on in December and suggested he join me. I told him I could get him a stateroom at my cost and we could could have a great vacation together. It took him a coupla months, but he finally pulled the trigger and paid the $459 for his room.
Last weekend I get a voicemail from him. He's about three drinks into a bottle of Scotch and decided to call me.
"Hey man, I juss wanid t'say thanks for tawkin me into this trip man. This is gonna be a great time I jus' know it. I... I jus' wanid to say, well,... I love you, man. No, rilly I love ya. Ima have a drink in your honor. And this is why...coz I love you maaaannnn."
I can't wait til December.

[ohnoyoudidnt]

1. Awesome.

I've been on a few cruises over the years. What are your ports of call?

There are some nice beaches in Tulum, but Grand Turk was my favorite.

[Callmecrazy]

2. 10 days, 6 islands...

Nassau, St Thomas, St, Kitts, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and their private resort on Labadee, Haiti.
This is my fourth cruise. I think the island of Barbados has the most beautiful beaches. The whitest sand I've ever seen. The mostly-naked women sunning on the beach is just an added perk.

[OriginalGeek]

3. lol

I've been that scotched before.


Actually, a lot.


We're booked in July for our first "real" cruise. (I don't count the Sun Cruise Casino boat and kinda don't count the Bahama Celebration 3 day trip although that was the boat ride that convinced us we'd like to cruise). We got 7 days in the western Caribbean - Cozumel, Belize, Roatan and Grand Cayman - and will be celebrating our 30th anniversary on-board.

Still 51 days away and I already can't hardly stand being at work. Just wanna get on a boat! lol, I've been scouring the interwebs for pictures of our stateroom just so I can stare at it until we get there.

[Callmecrazy]

4. I know how you feel, brother...

I have my itinerary on my bookmark toolbar. I'm going on the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas. That's the boat you see on their commercials. Yuuge boat. Six or seven different neighborhoods, zip line, surf wave pools, rock walls. Oh, and the Islands too; I could probably stay on the boat the whole time and not get bored. Great food, an aqua theater, casino, yadda yadda.

Those 50 days are gonna pass quickly, you'll see.

[OriginalGeek]

5. I can't believe it's already been 50 since we booked

I remember doing the "double digit" dance when we got to 99 days away lol.

You're right - the days are cruising by - every little milestone is cause for celebration - booked our first excursion the other day - cave-tubing in Belize - still looking at what to do the other stops...Ordered a case of water to be waiting in the fridge, applied for our passports (we don't need them for this cruise but never had them and plan to go to Scotland some day so figured now was a good time to get them), bought a whole bunch of Hawaiian flowerdy shirts (and she won't let me wear any until the cruise! argh!). Bought some cool little luggage tag holders, a little point and shoot camera so I don't have to lug around my big DSLR. And every night I watch that number go down one and get a thrill...

That RC Allure looks like a magnificent beast. My wife just rolls her eyes at me when I talk about "future" cruises lol But that one is way high up on my list of ships to sail on. My cousin and her husband were on one of those last year and they loved it. We're on the Carnival Conquest this time but I hope to eventually get to all the different lines. I've already told her I'd be happy only cruising for vacations until we go toes up. I'm certainly gonna try.

[Callmecrazy]

6. You say you're going to the Cayman's?

I swam with stingrays and did some snorkeling there. I highly recommend it.