Welcome to Rombello!
Thursday, September 29, 2012: The lovely city of Tampa wished us a "bon voyage" again as we headed out of the same port on the same ship, the Carnival Inspiration, that we had taken on the last music cruise. Bonus points if you can find the large "T" (for Tampa, I suppose) among the downtown buildings. Wonder if that was done intentionally?
Michael Franti & Spearhead, who happens to be one of our favorite live acts, kicked off the trip with a sail-away concert out on the Lido Deck. Their recent hit "The Sound of Sunshine" never sounded better or felt more appropriate as we got underway under blue sunny skies with warm temps and with the beach balls a-flyin'.
Our favorite "new-to-us" band we discovered on the Rombello Cruise was Gaelic Storm, an energetic and musically-adept Irish band. Appropriately, here they are above ending their first set in the bar on the Lido Deck. That's showmanship and drunkenness all at the same time, folks!
Saturday, October 1, 2011: We didn't have any luck securing an excursion for our stop in Cozumel before the cruise, so we stood in the excursion trip line on the boat (with Brett Dennen again!) and chose what looked to be an interesting cave tour and swim at Rio Secreto over on the mainland near Playa del Carmen. It turned out to be one of the best excursions we have ever done. It's a privately-owned cave system discovered only recently back in 2008. The half-mile hike, wade and swim through this underground wonder was simply amazing. The tour was very organized and went smoothly. Hats off to Carnival Cruise Lines for providing such a great tour since our past history with some ship-sponsored excursions have not been that great. Since personal cameras weren't allowed in the cave, I can't take credit for this incredible (and accurate) shot above. I borrowed it from the website blog of Legacy Travel.
After the tour of Rio Secreto we strolled around in Playa del Carmen a bit and wondered into Tequila Town for a drink. Who knew there were so many kinds of tequila!
As we boarded the ferry back to Cozumel from Playa del Carmen, this beautiful Caribbean storm popped up on the horizon. It never affected us which added to our record of perfect weather during this trip.
Rhett Miller once again took the small stage on the back of the cruise ship on the Serenity Deck as we awaited to depart from the Cozumel port. He gave another energetic performance even as the Carnival Elation headed out to sea behind him.
As the sun was setting and we got underway from Cozumel, Rhett Miller finished his set with flair and style.
We caught an energetic late-night show by JJ Grey & Mofro in the Paris Lounge to end the evening's musical journey. Grey's booming voice and dynamite backing band were a treat to see and hear. We had heard good reports of these guys and their live show, but had never seen them before.. Now we know what all the buzz is about.
Well after midnight and with his show in the main lounge over for hours, Michael Franti was still out and about in the open public areas of the ship posing for pictures, signing autographs and just being one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Here he stops and poses for a picture with me and John and Jessica, a couple from Charlotte, North Carolina, that we befriended on the cave tour and hung around with the rest of the cruise.
ADDENDUM: Thursday, October 6, 2011 - We saw our boy, Brett Dennen, again (sober this time, thank goodness, we were starting to worry about the kid!) put on a great show as the headliner at the fifth week of Live on the Green in downtown Nashville. Link below is part of his great performance. We had VIP tix that gave us unlimited drinks and great food from B & C BBQ (their buffalo chicken grits were outstanding!) as well as up close viewing of the stage. Before Brett's set we also saw some good performances by Rayland Baxter (performing with his legendary father, Bucky Baxter) and Nashville's own, Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors. Thanks to our newly-married friends, Nate and Ginny, for attending with us. Congrats, guys!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyfErB6a8gM&hd=1
2 comments:
I saw two T's... a white one and a black one. I guess the white one counts?
Check-mate!
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