Yay!!!! Were off to the Caribbean!! đÂ
I canât believe weâre getting another chance to see some of Godâs glorious creation! We were so blessed with our last cruise âTransatlantic Sunset Tourâ even though we had a roller coaster of a ride! đÂ
We were up around 4:30am, packing the final items into our cases. I found out the hard way last year on how impossible it was to find my black suitcase on the carousel among hundreds of other black suitcases!! đŚ So this year iâve treated myself to a dark purple one. Letâs see if this one is better to find?!
Kate, from the local taxis that Sarah uses for work, arrived and we set off for Gatwick. âNow we can relaxâ i said âAs itâs too late to go back if weâve forgotten anythingâ.Â
The Airport…
Kate was fantastic, and drove us right to the entrance and pointed us in the right direction âJust keep walking that way and youâll be fineâ. We checked in our cases and were given the fantastic airport assistance who guided us through customs and sat us in departures ready to catch the fun train.Â
The people at the desk said there was a 1 hour delayâŚâOh yes!!” Sarah & i said at the same time âWe have time to go shopping and have a coffeeâ. I think this was a new response for them as they looked a little bemused! đÂ
After finding the same italian coffee place from last year(itâs becoming another local), we found our way around a few shops and headed back to the pick up point. It wasnât long before the handheld thing they give me started flashing and vibrating which meant it is our turn to get on-board the train! Â
After our fun ride on the train, we boarded the plane and i even got a window seat. The 787 Dreamliner didnât disapoint as it gave it the beans down the runway!Â
During the 10½ hour flight, Sarah watched about 5 films(well 10 minutes of each, as she said they were horiffic, and saw firsthand why we didnât have a TV lisence anymore). We enjoyed the in-flight meals though, and it made up for the poor entertainment.Â
As i canât even see who is sat next to me(although i know itâs Sarah), i spent the time listening to the people around me. It helps me understand who is around, where they are, and i get to learn a little about the person by their words and characterâŚas “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heartâ. đÂ
Yay,we’re back in Jamaica! đ Â Â
The airport assistance escorted us through customs and to the queue for the coach transfer to the ship. As soon as they realised we couldnât see, they took us and skipped straight passed the queue and onto the coach where we were shown to the 2 front seats! One advantage of being blind, lol.
Arriving at the ship, the coach driver said there were further delays and the queue for the ship check-in was long and itâs seriously hot out there! But when we left the coach, we met the assistance and again, they led us past the large queue straight to the check-in and onto the ship! I always feel a little guilty when this happens, but itâs a fantastic service for us. đ
Boarding the Thomson Dream again this year felt like we were coming home. It took us about a week to figure out where everything is, but this time we remembered and it made life a lot easier! đÂ
The Emergency Drill…
We were now almost experts at the life jackets(well Sarah was) and we needed no help this time putting them on. It was really hot and humid out on deck for the drill, but i handled the heat much better this time. đÂ
Finding our way back to the cabin with our life jackets on, we wanted to try and take a selfie to keep as a memory, as we probably wouldnât have chance if we ever needed to use them again. Itâs really hard to take a selfie when you canât see the phone screen, but we took loads and managed to find one.
 The Coffee Port…
After a full on day, Sarah & i were in need of a proper coffeeâŚand guess what greeting we heard as we walked in??!! Yes it was Cecily! âNo wayâ we both said âItâs so good to see you againâ. Cecily then sat us down and said â2 espresso macchiatos?ââŚ.No way, she remembered! đ This was really starting to feel like home.
We finished our coffees and headed back to our cabin. Our cases had arrived and we started unpacking as the ship set sail for Trujillo, HondurasâŚWow what a day! đÂ
Day 2âŚ..
We spent day 2 exploring and seeing if anything had changed since weâd been gone. There were a few changes but nothing that tripped us up. Now it was time to check out the shore excursions for the next 4 islands!Â
Last year we didnt realise how quickly they sold out, so we got in early  and booked an excursion for each of the 4 days, we were excited to have booked a few varied tours, but i was a little worried as weâd booked Kayaking on one tour and River tubing on another. Can blind people really do this without crippling themselves?? đÂ
Either wayâŚback to the Coffee Port to celebrate with a latte! đÂ
 Thanks for joining us, itâs great to see you on-board! đ Â
Our Route:
this evening Thomson Dream sails to Trujillo, Honduras. Weâll arrive on Thursday morning after the leisurely day at sea having travelled 515 nautical miles at an average speed of 15 knots.Â