Singing At Sea 2020

Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in from Texas. I hope all of you are doing well. I had a fabulous vacation last week! Three of my favorite things are cruising, southern gospel music and food. That is what the Singing At Sea is all about. It was a wonderful five days of happiness. 

My friend Kaylene Stephens joined me on the trip. We had a great time together. I am glad to share the time with someone that enjoys it as much as I do.  

Our scheduled itinerary was to visit Key West, Florida, Coco Cay and Nassau in the Bahamas. I was super pumped because Key West was a new place for me and I love the Bahamas. 

Each morning, afternoon and evening of the cruise we enjoyed lots of great music!! I love getting to hear so many groups throughout the week. It really is an incredible week for a southern gospel music fan!  I was constantly buzzing back and forth on my scooter between concert venues across the ship. 

When we arrived in beautiful Key West it was windy and cold. I never dreamed of wishing that I had my boots or warm clothes there. It sure felt extremely cool for 61 degrees.

We had booked a trolley tour of the island, thankfully the trolley was enclosed. It was a great way for us to see the gorgeous island. We had a knowledgeable tour guide. He works for Old Town Trolley and his name was Jim. If you ride the trolley in the winter look for Jim from Bar Harbor. 

We had a little time to visit a few shops. I had to find chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick. I found it at Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe. Click here for more information. The key lime pie was as heavenly tasting as I had heard. In fact, I wish I had some of the yummy goodness right now. Then it was time to head back to the ship. 

Before we left port at Key West the ship’s captain informed us that the weather in the Bahamas was not good. He did not feel that it was safe to take us there. Our itinerary was then changed to Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico. A huge improvement to the itinerary change was sunshine and warmer temperatures! Everyone on the ship was excited about better weather!

The sea Tuesday evening was very rocky. It was entertaining to watch as people were trying to keep their footing solid. Several people experienced seasickness. Thank God Kaylene and I survived without any sickness! I definitely recommend taking non-drowsy Dramamine nightly while cruising. I always start taking it the night before boarding the ship and I have never had any issues. 

Tuesday night was Formal Night. It is always fun to dress up nicely and enjoy a fancy dinner. We also got to see our captain, ship’s officers and learn about the crew during the Captain’s Reception. 

Wednesday we woke up to superb weather! The ship anchored about 11:00 AM off of Cozumel. All of the berths at the dock were full. Since we were not originally scheduled to dock there our ship’s passengers had to ride tenders to land. The tenders were not scooter accessible. We had previously visited Cozumel five years ago in 2015. I was fine with not getting to go to land this time. We chose to relax, enjoy the ship and the beautiful weather. It was a wonderful day!

That is Singing At Sea 2020. Now get ready for picture overload. These pictures are from both of mine and Kaylene’s phones. 

Monday January 20th- Tampa Florida. 

Ship bound 

Onboard

Fully handicapped accessible cabin number 2023

First lunch onboard 

Our host group for the week LeFever Quartet sang the sail away concert. 

My sweet friends Brandi and Terry Stewart. Terry travels with the LeFever Quartet. 

Dinner night 1

Tribute Quartet 

The Perrys

The Browders

Karen Peck and New River

Me with my buddy Aaron Wilburn 

Tuesday January 21st- Key West Florida.

Breakfast day 2- 

I love the omelette station on the cruise. 

Southern most point of the United States. About 90 or so miles from Cuba. The line was crazy for an up close picture. So we settled for one from the trolley. 

Fun fact: We actually docked at the Navy pier. Pictures we not allowed because we were on a Naval base. My Papaw Eugene spent time stationed in Key West during his in the Navy tenure. I enjoy hearing stories about his time there. 

The Captain 

The Officers 

Crew Representatives 

Dinner night 2

Forgot to take a picture of my appetizer. Kaylene also ordered the same entree as me. Her appetizer all week was bread.

Jeff and Sheri Easter 

The Bowling Family 

The Bowling Sisters

Aaron Wilburn with Geraldine and Ricky 

Formal night pictures

Wednesday, January 22nd- Cozumel, Mexico

One of the tenders

Lunch Day 3

Paul and Sheila Heil of The Gospel Greats program. The Heils hosted name that tune. 

LeFever Quartet

Me and my friend Brandi 

Terry and Brandi Stewart 

Me with Mike LeFever

Tribute Quartet with me and Kaylene 

Dinner night 3 

The Bellamys were some of our table mates. 

The Bowling Family 

The Bowling Sisters 

Jeff and Sheri Easter and Mark Bishop 

Wilburn and Wilburn  

The Inspirations

The Perrys

Me and Sherri Easter 

Poet Voices

Me and C.T. Townsend 

Thanks for reading. 

Odie