Arrived In Florida

Yesterday afternoon we arrive in Pompano Beach, Florida.  The flight down from Virginia was good and we arrived almost 20 minutes early.  Will be here until embarkation morning.

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Night Out At The Rink

Last night it was very cold here in Virginia with temperatures well below freezing.  But, we did venture out to watch our grandson, Lance compete in some inline skating.  He is also on the ice skating team at his high school .  The event was full of action and loads of excitement.

Lance in pregame meeting

 Going For The Goal

 Face-off

 Maria (our daughter-in-law and Lance's Mom) and Cindy Watching The Game

Curt Jr. Providing Advise To The Team

Tomorrow morning we fly to Miami and then drive on to Pompano Beach for a week's stay.  Looking forward to the warmer weather.  We will be doing some final shopping for cruise essentials.  Our friends, Leslie and John will be staying at the time share with us for the week.  This has become an annual event.  Last World Cruise they were nice enough to pick us up at the airport and take us to the cruise terminal. Wish they were joining for the voyage!

Time to get repacked and excited......off to Florida!

Princess Announcement

This morning we got the email that Princess Cruises has selected the Cruise Director and Captain's Circle Host for the upcoming World Cruise. We were very happy to see that both Brett Sibone and Sandy Gunder will be back on board for another World Cruise. Looking forward to seeing them again. Here is the information that was released.

(Captain's Circle Host)

(Cruise Director)

Good Friends and Good Food

Things are always busy around the Cornell's home in Virginia during the Christmas holidays.  The annual tradition is to have all the family members from Virginia, Maryland, Florida, California, Nevada, and around the world assemble for a Christmas Dinner.  Curt Jr. and Maria host this dinner every other year at their home in South Riding, VA.  This year the preparations began well before Christmas.  Then on Christmas afternoon all the relatives began arriving for the good food and good times.  Later that evening we did the always popular Secret Santa Gift Exchange.  You never know what you might end up with and if you will be able to trade it for something special like a Chia Pet!!!

(Cindy Cornell, Marisa Cornell and Ameila Lancellotti preparing the Christmas Dinner)

(Cooking the chicken as more family arrives)

(Chris Bassler and Curt  Cornell, Jr. preparing the Tortellini and Prime Rib Beef)

On the day after Christmas, we went to Dale City, Virginia to visit our friends, Bob and Carol Tyson who we have known for 40 years.  We got to see their daughters Bobbie and Susan while we were there.  It was good to see them and get caught up on all that's been happening in the Tyson Family.

(Carol, Bob, Cindy, and Curt--friends for 40 years)

For the next few days we are "cooling our heals" after all the shopping and activities.

Arrival In Virginia

On December 18th we made the flight from Las Vegas to Chicago to Washington Reagan National Airport.  Curt Jr. and Marisa met us at Baggage Claim and then we made the drive across town to South Riding, Virginia.  It was good to be off of the plane and back in a warm home!

Over the past few days, Lance and Marisa have been completing their last few days of school for this year.  Maria and Curt Jr. have been working hard at their jobs and the grandparents have been spending time with the grand kids after school.  Yesterday we did a little final Christmas shopping for the upcoming Annual Christmas Dinner at The Cornell's scheduled for Christmas evening.  The weather here has been pretty good--little cold, but still good.  However, today (December 21st) there has been light rain all day with more expected for tomorrow.

Marisa invited us to join her for lunch at Little River Elementary School.  We got there at about 11:00am and her class made it down the main hallway heading for the cafeteria at 11:15am.  The cafeteria was full of school kids, all of which were very well mannered.  Here is a photo of all enjoying lunch.

(Curt, Marisa, Cindy)

The highlight of the day was Santa's arrival in the school cafeteria!  This jolly ole man greeted all the children and they gave his a very loud welcome.

27 Days And Counting

Time is really getting short now.  We are all packed and completed all the preparations for this grand trip around the world.  Later today, we will go over to our daughter and son-in-law's home (Stephanie and Andy) for the afternoon and evening.  And then in the morning we fly back to Virginia to spend the holidays with Curt Jr., Maria, Lance and Marisa.  Looking forward to Christmas and New Years back east.

We heard from other world cruisers that Brett Siborne will be our Cruise Director again this year.  He does a great job and we are looking forward to seeing him again.

After the New Year, we will be making our "Annual" week long stay in Pompano Beach, Florida with our good friends, Leslie and John.  They will be picking us up at the Miami Airport when we fly in from Virginia.  Thanks Leslie and John--we really appreciate you doing this for us!!!

I'm sure time will pass quickly and before we know it we will be sailing away from Fort Lauderdale.

Shore Excursions Booked

After researching and reviewing the tours and shore excursions offered during the world cruise, we have finally made up our minds and booked several.  Much of the cruise itinerary isn’t new, so we focused on finding tours to places or areas we had not previously visited.  Here is what we have reserved so far.

·         San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua---Granada, Masaya Market and Volcano, Lunch and Shopping

·         Cairns, Australia---The Great Barrier Reef for Marine World (Snorkeling, Semi-Submersible Boat Tours, Underwater Observatory, and Marine Touch Tank)

·         Tokyo, Japan---Imperial Palace Grounds, Meiji  Shrine and Temple

·         Hiroshima, Japan---Bullet Train, Kintai Bridge and A-Bomb Dome

·         Shanghai, China---Zhujiajiao:  Qing Dynasty Post Office,  Covered Bridges, and Shopping

·         Hong Kong, China---Hong Kong Vintage Tram By Night, Shopping At Temple Street Night Market and 8-course Beijing-Style Duck Dinner

·         Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam---The Mekong Delta,  Mekong River Cruise to My Tho Island in the Mekong Delta, Sanpan To Traditional Homes and visit Coconut Candy Factory and a Village.

·         Phuket, Thailand---Phuket Town On Your Own

·         Chennai, India---The Monuments at Mahabalipuram, Five Rathas Temple Models

·         Mumbai, India---Elephanta Island and Caves

·         Manama, Bahrain---Bahrain Fort, Jasra House, Bahrain World Train Center, Camel Farm, and  Handicraft Center

·         Dubai, United Arab Emirates---4WD Desert Safari, Arabian Campsite,  and Camel Ride

·         Aqaba, Jordan---Petra (The Lost City)

·         Safaga, Egypt---Grand Overland 4-days Off The Ship: Luxor, Karnak, Valley Of The Kings, Aswan Dam/Aswan, Abu Simbel and Cairo

·         Koper, Slovenia---Medieval Piran

We are looking forward to participating in these organized shore excursions and learning about many new places.