On November 23, 2025 Harold and I loaded up the car and headed south toward Galveston, Texas for a one night hotel stay, to board a 10-Day cruise the following morning. This was a last minute booking which we just booked a few days earlier and our first trip on the Carnival Legend. So this month I decided to write about our trip and to do it in a daily travel blog + faith format in lieu of my regular monthly blog. Travel has long been a part of my life with my 30+ years in the airport/airline industry as well as the 20+ years my husband and I worked together in the RV business. Sharing my faith all along the way has been a part of my life since the late 1980s.
Our Itinerary:
- Galveston – Monday
- Fun Day at Sea – Tuesday
- Cozumel, Mexico – Wednesday
- Belize City, Belize – Thursday
- Mahogany Bay, Roatan Honduras – Friday
- Fun Day at Sea – Saturday
- Ocho Rios, Jamaica – Sunday
- Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands – Monday
- Fun Day at Sea – Tuesday
- Fun Day at Sea – Wednesday
- Galveston – Thursday
Sunday, November 23, 2024: Car drive to Galveston, Texas.
Bible Study: Amos 3
Devotional: “Let it Shine” by Ray Comfort and corresponding Bible verse, “Ye are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14 (KJV)
Our drive was under clouds most of the way with only a few sprinkles here and there. We stopped at the Buc-ee’s in Madisonville, Texas for fuel but encountered a fuel pump problem and the inside was so crowded that the line to the ladies restroom was winding around to the drink dispenser! So we decided just to go across the street to the Shell gas station, and I’m glad we did. Sometimes little inconveniences and detours lead to unexpected blessings. It was here I gave the cashier a British Invasion Million Dollar Bill. This bill has a photo of the Beatles on the front and the gospel message on the back and a link referral to NeedGod.com and LivingWaters.com for more information. I got a thousand of these (actually by mistake as I didn’t mean to order this many) in October for a planned trip to see Paul McCartney in concert in San Antonio. I had a bunch left over so I’ve been passing them out ever since, and everywhere I go, including our October trip out to Phoenix and back. I’ve been getting my gospel sharing tools over the past several years from Living Waters Ministries. I have other bills made by Living Waters but I really like the British Invasion Million Dollar Bills because I think they draw more reactions. Or, maybe it’s because I’m old enough to remember the Beatles when they first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show back in 1964 plus I really liked their early songs. Anyway, this particular young girl was so excited to receive it she thanked me a couple of times. She told me that she’d like to give it to her dad and so I gave her another one. It made my heart smile; it was so encouraging to see her receive it with such joy. It actually set the tone for the rest of our trip. When we got to Galveston Island we stopped at a KFC to get a couple of chicken dinners to-go and gave a British Invasion Million Dollar Bill to the lady at the pickup window. Just a smile and a thank you but you never know what a simple sharing of the gospel message will do in a persons heart. From there we drove to our hotel which was only a few minutes away. The Seabreeze Hotel is a newly constructed hotel and it was only $98 for a one night stay. It’s a nice, clean, and new hotel that’s located just a block from the Galveston Boardwalk. It’s so close to the cruise terminal we could see our ship from our hotel window! In the early evening I walked over to enjoy the ocean up close and take some photos while Harold watched a football game on TV.
Day 1, Monday, November 24: Embarkation
Bible Study: Amos 4
Daily Devotional: “The Same Message” by Ray Comfort and corresponding Bible verse, “We should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” Titus 3:1 (KJV)
The hotel breakfast was pretty good. It included sausage and scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, muffins, dry cereal, oatmeal, and waffles. I left two British Invasion Million Dollar Bills inside the room Bible and one for the maid along with her tip. This has been one of the various ways I’ve shared the gospel in the past, but since the Paul McCartney concert in October I determined in my heart that I would try to share them more intentionally by interacting with people instead of just leaving them here and there for people to find. We left the hotel at 11:00 a.m. and drove over to Lot B Parking which only took about five minutes. We tipped the bag porter and included a British Invasion Million Dollar Bill. Once onboard the ship we dropped off our carry-on bags in our cabin and proceeded to the buffet for a salad lunch. After our cabin was ready we did an old fashioned outdoor muster station drill for 30 minutes although it seemed a lot longer. A lot of people were noticeably annoyed which I suspect was because in the past few years the muster drill has been accomplished within a couple of minutes by just stopping by your muster station, showing your boarding pass, and agreeing to watch the muster station drill information on your cabin TV. After this muster drill was over we walked around the ship for a while to get familiar with our new surroundings and then we went back to our cabin to rest. We got in a nice afternoon nap, watched some TV, and then went to the PG comedy show at 6:30 p.m. Our scheduled dinner time was at 7:30 p.m., which is a lot latter than what we usually choose but the “Early Dine” and the “Your Time Dining” was sold out by the time we booked this last minute cruise, so we didn’t really have a choice. We met our dinner partners, Gloria and Harold, in the Truffles Restaurant tonight. After dinner we located the Pixels area and bought our embarkation photo and then went to the 9:30 p.m. Welcome Aboard show in the Follies main Lounge. I hid 2 ducks (from Lunmon at Amazon with faith statements such as “Jesus Loves You”) + Ten Commandments Coins (from Living Waters Ministries) this evening on our way back to our cabin for the night.
Day 2, Tuesday, November 25: Sea Day
Bible Study: Amos 5
Devotional: “Do it Heartily” by Ray Comfort and corresponding Bible verse, “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily.” Colossians 3:23 (KJV)
We went to the Sea Day Breakfast at the Truffles restaurant and within a couple of minutes of being seated, we were given two tiny Jesus figures by the couple seated next to us, and I responded by giving them two British Invasion Million Dollar Bills, to which they seemed pleasantly surprised to receive. We didn’t get to talk with them very much during breakfast as he was very busy working on his laptop and she was helping him. I do have to say, while I appreciate the intentions of those who pass out or hide tiny Jesus figures on cruise ships, I don’t particularly like this as an evangelism tool. Simply put, I think it’s disrespectful of the glory and honor we should have for Christ, but that’s just my opinion. After breakfast we went to the Lido Deck to get some steps in and to see the ocean views. We then got two sandwiches to-go to take back to our cabin for our afternoon lunch. I spent some time working on this month’s blog, “Let’s Make a Deal” and then we watched the Family Feud Auditions in the Follies theatre on Deck 4 near our cabin. After a short afternoon nap we dressed for formal night (actually less formal for us) and we had pictures taken, went to watch the karaoke singers in the Red Frog Pub, and then headed off to dinner in the Truffles restaurant. This evening we met two new dinner partners, Diana and Michael Burke, which was good as Harold and Gloria were a no-show this evening. After dinner I hid one British Invasion Million Dollar Bill on the way to the Truffle Lounge to watch the Playlist Production called 1970’s NYC. When we got back to our cabin around 10:00 p.m. we learned that our Cozumel Excursion scheduled for tomorrow was cancelled due to low booking count. We were a little disappointed but there was nothing we could do about it at this late hour. Whenever I’m a little disappointed about something I try to think on the bright side as there’s really always something to be grateful for. In our case, I decided I was grateful that we didn’t have to set the alarm to get up tomorrow! Interestingly this ties in nicely with tomorrow’s devotional title. Note: Our current daily devotional is titled, Count Your Blessings and Stop Stressing” by Ray Comfort 2024 Edition.
Day 3, Wednesday, November 26: Cozumel, Mexico
Bible study: Amos 6
Daily Devotional: “Silencing the Alarm” by Ray Comfort and corresponding Bible verse, “God is greater than our heart.” 1 John 3:20 (KJV)
Wednesday Wisdom: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” Proverbs 28:13
We had a one hour time change forward this morning in Cozumel which worked out really good because I didn’t sleep well last night so I ready appreciated that in addition to not having to onshore at any particular time since our excursion was cancelled. I hid a duck + Ten Commandments Coin on a hallway telephone on our way to breakfast in the buffet. We got off the ship around 11:30 a.m. and walked around the port shops, took a some photos, and then headed back to get on the ship. I gave away one British Invasion Million Dollar Bill to a man who offered to take our photo together. We caught a ride on bike taxi and got a funny photo of me pedaling the bike taxi with Harold as my passenger! I gave a British Invasion Million Dollar Bill to our bike taxi driver along with his tip. I then talked with a man from Germany who was standing outside of a ship, Meinschiff, that was docked across from our ship. He spoke good English and I gave him and another man, who was standing behind him, two British Invasion Million Dollar Bills, which they both received with huge smiles. We then sat down outside of our ship to rest a minute and I struck up a quick little convo with an older lady who was sitting there with her elderly brother in a wheelchair. I said I was thankful for a cool glass of water and a place to sit in the shade to which she replied, “Amen.” Our convo turned into a mini praise session about the goodness of God and then it took on more depth as she secretly motioned to me, by pointing to her brother while hiding her pointing finger with her other hand, stating that “Not everyone believes in Jesus,” I wondered if he overheard some of our conversation, but didn’t know. At this point we got up and started back onto the ship. I wondered if I should have tried to engage him in a faith convo but I was hesitant. He was avoiding looking towards me. I think the sister was actually wanting me to pray for him so later I prayed for him and I also asked God to give me more discernment and to help me be more bold. Back on board the ship I hid one British Invasion Million Dollar Bill on a little shelf on a craps table and gave one away to a lady who was searching for ducks in the military lounge. We ate a light lunch in the buffet and then rested in our cabin before it was time to get ready for dinner. We went to the PG comedy show and then to the Truffles restaurant and had a nice dinner with Michael and Diana. We then went to the 9:30 p.m. Michael Wordly Viva Variety Show in the Follies Lounge. It was really an enjoyable show. He had a great voice and a nice background story about his grandmother who helped him get voice lessons after he found out he had a heart murmur when he was young. He had to stop playing football, which was something he really loved, but she helped him find something else to love and to do, that eventually led to being his career.
Day 4, Thursday, November 27: Belize City, Belize
Thanksgiving Day
Bible Study: Amos 7
Daily Devotional: “Heaven’s Reality” by Ray Comfort and corresponding Bible verse, “I go and prepare a place for you.” John 14:3
We had breakfast in the Truffles restaurant and Harold gave away one tiny pink duck to a little girl at a nearby table. We grabbed an umbrella (it was raining earlier) and headed to the meeting place for our excursion in the Follies Lounge. We proceeded to the tender boat that took us to the Belize City Port Terminal 2A after a smooth 15 minute ride. We boarded our excursion wildlife cruise boat and spent two hours on the water. We saw crocodiles, a turtles, a monkey, a bunch of iguanas, and an egret. On our return tender boat it started to rain. As I was getting out a British Invasion Million Dollar Bills to put with our tip and the lady across from us asked me what it was so I gave her and her husband two of them. That led to me giving some to the ladies sitting next to them, and so on as I sent a handful to the people behind us which they passed on as well. In total I passed out around 30 British Invasion Million Dollar Bills today to the passengers, a boat worker, and also a bathroom attendant, along with a tip. Back onboard the ship we had a salad for lunch and one cookie each. (Watching our calories!) After our afternoon nap we got ready for dinner and stopped to get photos together before dinner as it was Elegant Night. When we got to the Truffles restaurant we were happy to see Michael and Diana and our other dinner partners, Harold and Gloria, as they hadn’t been to dinner since Monday. We ordered a traditional Thanksgiving meal and I got the waiter to take a photo of our table afterwards. We ended the night by seeing part of the Rock show in the Follies Lounge. I didn’t care for this show so we left after a couple of songs. I hid one duck + 10 Commandments Coin on the way back to our cabin.
Day 5, Friday, November 28: Mahogany Bay, Roatán Honduras
Bible Study: Amos 8
Daily Devotional: “A Good Sleep” by Ray Comfort and corresponding Bible verse “He gives to his beloved sleep” Psalm 127:2 (Amen, as I sometimes suffer from insomnia but had a good nights sleep last night!)
After our breakfast at the Truffles restaurant, we disembarked to get on our excursion which was all about Monkeys, Sloths, Iguanas, Macaws! To begin with, the funniest thing was the tour van! It was made in Japan for tiny people! The aisle was so narrow! We all cracked up laughing as everyone, one by one, wrestled to get by the seats. Harold is such a good sport; he let me take a funny movie of him struggling to get by the seats, and he even let me post it on Facebook. The actual excursion and all animals and birds was very enjoyable and fun. I got photos with an iguana on my shoulder and a macaw on my head. We also shopped at a Chocolate factory store. We passed out around 12 British Invasion Million Dollar Bills at this little shopping center and also gave one to our bus driver and our tour guide along with their tips. On the return bus trip the tour guide began singing Christian songs at random and many of us joined in to sing with her on the ones she sang in English. It was a sweet surprise and a highlight of this trip that I will not soon forget. Back on board we ate dinner at the Truffles restaurant and watched the Family Feud Live Show. I hid one duck + 10 Commandments Coin on the way back to our cabin.
Day 6, Saturday, November 29: Sea Day
Bible Study: Amos 9
Daily Devotional: “Faithful Prayer” by Ray Comfort and corresponding Bible verse, “She coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” Luke 2:38 (KJV)
Breakfast at Truffles restaurant. After breakfast we went to the Beatles “Guess that Song” trivia contest and I passed out around 45 British Invasion Million Dollar Bills! Knowing that the people who were there were very likely Beatles fans made it seem so easy to walk around handing the bills to them. After I left, I was so encouraged when I walked by teenage girl who was reading the back of her bill out loud to a group of her friends. It was so sweet to see them listening to her as she was reading the gospel message out loud, and with a smile on her face. After lunch I signed up to join the ship’s FB group after running into the “Mrs Ropers” and “Stanley Ropers” (Three’s Company TV show) bunch. I got some photos of them and posted them on the ship’s FB group page. Back at the cabin, Harold took a nap while I finished writing and publishing my November blog, The Other Side of the Door. After dinner at the Truffles restaurant, I hid one faith duck + 10 Commandments Coin and we went to bed early.
Day 7, Sunday, November 30: Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Bible Study: Obadiah 1
Daily Devotional: “Seal my Heart” by Ray Comfort and corresponding Bible verse, “I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will do them good and not turn away from them; and I will put in their heart a fear and reverential awe of me, so that they will not turn away from me.” Jeremiah 32:40 (AMP)
We had a leisurely breakfast in the buffet as our debark time was delayed about an hour. The captain wanted to first offload the relief supplies they were delivering due to Hurricane Melissa damage to the island in October. We were understanding of the delay and glad that Carnival was doing this. As a result the captain extended our stay by one hour as a courtesy due to the debarking delay. Although we’ve been to Jamaica before, this was our first visit to the port of Ocho Rios. We got off the ship and headed to our excursion meeting point and boarded a bus which dropped us off just a few minutes away at Mystic Mountain Escape. In order to get up to Mystic Mountain you have to travel up the mountain on a sky lift. Our stomach’s were a little queasy as we rode up the mountain on the Sky Explorer. Not that we’d never been on a sky lift, it was because it was so old and it went up so high! Once we got there we were glad to be on solid ground! We enjoyed the beautiful views and walking through the cave. A hummingbird buzzed right by me in the hummingbird garden but it was too quick for me to get a photo of it. The return trip down the mountain was not as harrowing as the trip up the mountain because it rode closer to the ground. I gave out five British Invasion Million Dollar Bills with tips to five of the workers on thiis excursion. Back at the cruise port, Harold bought a $10 Jamaica ball cap and we ate a light lunch once we got back onboard. Afterwards I hid one duck + 10 Commandments Coin on our way back to our cabin. We ate dinner in the Truffles dining room with Diana and Michael and headed back to our cabin after dinner. When we returned to our cabin we found a notice that our Glass Bottom Boat excursion for tomorrow at 9:45 a.m. had been cancelled. This time they rebooked us on the 8:15 a.m. excursion but we decided to return our tickets to Guest Services and request a refund as we prefer not having to rush in the morning to get on an early excursion.
Day 8, Monday, December 1: Grand Cayman, The Cayman Islands
Bible Study: Jonah 1
Daily Devotional: “Blessed Patience” by Ray Comfort and corresponding Bible verse, “We count them happy which endure.” James 5:11 (KJV)
After breakfast in the buffet, we took the water shuttle over to the Port of Grand Cayman. I shopped for a magnet and found one I liked for only $7. We walked around the shopping area a bit but returned after only a short time because Harold’s stomach was getting upset. Thinking about our canceled excursion at this point made us thankful that it was cancelled. Back on board we took an afternoon nap and then went to the Shore Excursion Desk to verify our refund for today’s cancelled excursion. I ironed Harold’s blue tropical cotton shirt to coordinate with my blue top I was planning to wear tonight. We got photos taken with the ship’s photographers and proceeded to the Truffles restaurant for dinner. We ate alone tonight but had a nice night anyway. Our waiter spent more time talking with us and he made a “swan” out of a napkin in a water glass for me and we got a photo together with it. After dinner we watched Guess that Groove in the Follies Lounge and also Deal or No Deal. I hid one duck + 10 Commandments Coin on the ship and gave away 2 British Invasion Million Dollar Bills today in Grand Cayman, and one to a cashier on the ship when I was getting change.
Day 9, Tuesday, December 2: Sea Day
Bible Study: Jonah 2
Daily Devotional: “ The Light of the Bible” by Ray Comfort and corresponding Bible verse, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.” Psalm 119:105 (KJV)
A leisurely Sea Day breakfast at the Truffles restaurant this morning and then we went to the Platinum Diamond Reunion in the Follies Lounge. After it was over, a girl, probably in her mid 20s, came up to me to thank me for giving her a British Invasion Million Dollar Bill at the Beatles Song Trivia game the other day. We spoke for a short while about the Living Waters Ministry and Ray Comfort. I mentioned how I like how he asks people if they’re a good person and how so many say, “Yes,” because they think they are, until Ray starts asking if they’ve ever told a lie, ever stolen anything, ever taken the Lord’s name in vain, etc. Explaining that is when they start to realize that they’re not actually a good person. She smiled and nodded yes, and told me she had read the back of the (British Invasion Million Dollar) bill and agreed with what it said. She then mentioned how traveling and seeing the beauty of God’s creation was especially inspirational to her. I told her that God’s creation was God’s general revelation of his existence, and that it alone should be enough to make people realize that God is the creator of everything. I said “all of God’s creation attests of his glory” and that “man has no excuse” concerning understanding that just seeing all of what God has created proves that there is a creator. She was again in agreement with what I was saying. After we were done talking and as she was walking away I then wondered then if I had should have actually gone through the “Good Person” questions with her instead of talking about it. I was assuming she was a Christian. I prayed that if I wrongly assumed she was a Christian that hopefully at least a seed was planted. We had dinner in the Truffles restaurant with our dinner partners Michael and Diana and then went to bed early after I hid one duck + Ten Commandments Coin.
Day 10, Wednesday, December 3: Sea Day
Bible Study: Jonah 3-4
Daily Devotional: “He Knows His Own” by Ray Comfort and corresponding Bible verse, “The Lord knows those who are his.” 2 Timothy 2:19
Wednesday Wisdom: “The fear of mankind is a snare, but the one who trusts in the LORD is protected.” Proverbs 29:25
Our last Sea Day on the ship we had a late breakfast at the Truffles restaurant and then an afternoon nap. I selected our digital debark time of 9:30 a.m, for tomorrow debarkation. As Carnival Platinum cruisers we’re eligible to take the earliest time slots but we prefer the very last time slot as it gives us more time in the morning. We had our last dinner in the Truffles restaurant with Michael and Diana who we really enjoyed getting to know on this cruise. I exchanged FB contact info with Diana and we connected within a couple of days. We went this evening to the Playlist Production, Flick, with intention of only watching it just a few minutes as we’ve seen it before, but soon after it started it had a production problem and they cancelled the rest of the show anyway. So our last evening on the ship was another early evening for us, after hiding one duck + Ten Commandments Coin.
Day 11, Thursday, December 4: Disembark Day
Bible Study: Micah 1
Daily Devotional: Godless Traditions, “[Make] the word of God of no effect through your tradition.” Mark 7:13
We had breakfast at the buffet at 8:30 a.m. and were off the ship by 9:30 a.m. We gave away two British Invasion Million Dollar Bills to the bus driver and bag porter along with their tips. We stopped twice on our way home and I left a British Invasion Million Dollar Bill at both places. We got home around 3:15 p.m. and we were both tired but decided to go watch our 7th grade grandson play a 5:00 p.m. basketball game that was about an hour away from our house. After the game we were glad to get home, and thankful for a wonderful cruise, the joy of having more intentional interactions with people, and for another safe trip home.
Treasure In Jars of Clay 