January 25

I got up really early hoping to be able to board early. I hate standing in line, but if I have to I always make sure I’m first in line. Unfortunately it didn’t work out. We had to go to the airport first.

The upside was that we got to meet a lot of Zumba family. We met Brenda and Crystal at the airport. Took an uber together. That was my first time using that service.

I will probably stay with them on my last night in Fort Lauderdale. We got to the boat around 11 am. And had to wait to board the ship almost until 2!!!!

I was expecting to be the last person in our room, but I was the first one! We, Lisa, Brittany and Li met on line. But we’re a great match.

Brittany and I have the same classes the entire cruise.

I’m really having a great time but the organization sucks. Classes are being cancelled without prior notice. Low sound quality. And even worse floors. I have to be careful if I don’t want to leave without an injury.

We ended up going to Loretta and Marcie’s class because our class was canceled. It was great class. I danced like crazy but laughed even harder. I met one of my 2013 roommates and we hung out together.

There were classes from 3 until 11 pm constantly so it was hard to fit in diner. But we went to windjammer at 6.15. The food was rather disappointing but we had a great time. I met Nancy again whom I met at the Afro Latin mashup on Saturday. Since she is from the Miami area she personally knows a lot of the famous Zumba people. They even stopped at her table. Nancy insisted we took pictures together with them. That was fun.

In the evening we took 3 classes. All of them were great. I ended up dancing until 10.30. I took a hip hop class on the swimming pool deck. So we were outside. In the dark. It was like a huge concert I was really tired afterwards so Li and I went to the sauna and steam room. We met 3 nice ladies from the New Jersey area, Katie, Sally and Martha. When we got back from the sauna it was after 12am!

We had a few laughs, the girls went out for pizza and I went to bed!

I feel rich, fortunate and grateful to be here! Looking forward to another great day!

January 26 day 2 on the cruise.

Wow did I have fun.
I started the day with a shake. Zumba now also offers shakes to make you lose weight. It tasted surprisingly good.

My first class was a class I didn’t sign up for. It was one of the two classes that was canceled on the first day. Not only the class was great but the location was awesome. It’s on the top deck. So outside. In the sun. And with the wind to cool you down.

The next class was at the swimming pool. Also outside. I decided to only take classes outside. It’s so much better. It was a hip hop class. I managed to claim a great spot.

Afterwards I was tired so I took a deck chair and took a nap outside. There sun was great. I had just woken up and was thinking that I should head downstairs to see if I could get in touch with my friend Tricia. We had missed each other up till then. And just as I was thinking of her I saw her walking up to me.

She was my 2014 roommate together with Ama. So it was great to meet her and her husband. We went to have lunch together. As I mentioned before the food was rather disappointing. It’s as if the standard is lower. I have taken Royal Caribbean cruises before and had food at Windjammer, the self service buffet, but have never seen this low quality. It’s not as if it’s bad, but there are just a few items that I prefer to eat. I’m not even tempted to overeat.

Americans are tempted to get dishes full of food and then just eat a few bites and take another plate and fill it up. Such a waste.

After that I went to a class from. Ricardo which was great. My clients love him. He’s such a warm personality. He might not be the best dancer. But his energy and soul gets the crowd going in a way that most other presenters can’t. It’s a party to be in his class. He’s got humor. He also uses great ,using and mixes. When I take his classes I enjoy almost every song.

After the class I found my other friend Nancy. She’s so nice and we have a great time dancing together. We hung out together until the next class, Wally Diaz’s class. I always take his class on convention. He’s a very tall man but the ease and grace with which he moves is not only great to see, but it’s also nice to follow.

Nancy knows him personally but we hadn’t signed up for the class. So we didn’t get in because his class is very popular. We danced outside the court and had such a great time that eventually one of the staff members came to invite us to come in after all.

The class finished at 8 and it was time to go for diner. Unfortunately rely it was formal night and there was a huge line. We had decided to go to a restaurant that night in stead of buffet. The food was great. The company was fascinating. There was a lady seated at our table that couldn’t believe Jeff and Tricia were married. Once that topic came up she kept talking about her husband, who. She hadn’t wanted to marry. She just wanted him to be her boyfriend and not her husband. Well that kind of worked out, because they got divorced. How he didn’t want to eat with the same fork or spoon she had eaten from and how he would share food with his dogs. She really cracked me up!

By then it was 10.30 and I called it a night!

Day 3
I have slept really bad even since I got to the us so I chose to stay in bed long today and even miss classes.

Today is our day in Labadee. The first time Burt and I went on a cruise we were also supposed to go to Labadee but the sea wouldn’t let us!! Hahahaha

This time we did go. It’s a big beach with facilities like a roller coaster, zip line, aqua park and only accessible for Royal Caribbean guests.
It was a great experience to be out in the sun. Walk into the water every now and then.

At 2 a fitness concert started. At convention were used to a fitness concert where multiple guests perform and Beto and the Zumba experts dance for us to follow. . This was not a fitness concert. It was just a concert. The quality of the performances wasn’t as good as usual. And the music was really loud. I love to have music o. Really loud. It this was too much. It gave me a headache.

The music was so loud that even after having walked back to the boat for 20 minutes I could still hear every word of the lyrics!

Back on the boat I took another shower. I take about 4 showers a day. Just as many as I take classes.

Zumba time! I took a class from the Brutez! I’ll try and post a video. They have great energy. Huge moves. It was fun. Because we were at the island there weren’t that many classes today. Tomorrow we will be in Jamaica not many classes either. But I have already selected three for in the morning. I will need to go too Jamaica for the Internet. I probably won’t visit Jamaica other than that.

Okay time to go to bed. But I’m having the time of my life!