A week from today . . .

my lovely wife, Lisa, and I will be getting on the Crown Princess (pictured to the left) and setting sail for the Caribbean.  A friend of ours, Brenda, recently experienced a financial windfall and surprised us with this unbelievably generous and awesome gift.  She is paying for everything.  The only thing Lisa and I will have to spring for is the occasional pina colada or margarita as we bask in the sun.  As you might imagine, we are geeked about this and can't wait to set sail, especially given the weather we're currently having here in snowy Michigan! 

This will be the fifth cruise for Lisa and me, all of which have been FREE - we've been very blessed, to say the least.  Actually, I should qualify that statement, since I'm sure my wife would want to correct me here:  The first four weren't exactly free.  We earned/won them from the direct selling company we worked for back then.  But, they sure did feel free, as we didn't pay a dime of our own money for them. 

So, we're "cruise veterans," so to speak.  And we love them.  There is simply nothing like being on a cruise, and we are so looking forward to this one.  This will be the first time on a Princess Cruise (the previous four were all on Carnival), so it will be interesting to compare.  We can't wait! :)   

We are so thankful to Brenda, with whom we have cruised three times in the past, for doing this for us, and we look forward to spending time with her and her family on the big boat.  And, we're doubly excited by the fact that we're going to a couple new places.  Here's our itinerary (we've been to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, but Honduras and Bahamas are new):

Saturday, Jan. 16:  Set sail from Ft. Lauderdale at 5 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 17:  At sea
Monday, Jan. 18:  Port of Call - Grand Cayman (7 a.m. - 4 p.m.)
Tuesday, Jan. 19:  Port of Call - Roatan, Honduras (9 a.m. - 5 p.m.)
Wednesday, Jan. 20:  Port of Call - Cozumel, Mexico (7 a.m. - 5 p.m.)
Thursday, Jan. 21:  At sea
Friday, Jan. 22:  Port of Call:  Princess Cays, Bahamas (9 a.m. - 4 p.m.)
Saturday, Jan. 23:  Arrive in Ft. Lauderdale at 7 a.m. (arrive back in Lansing, MI at 7:04 p.m.)